US DOJ May Dump 69,370 Bitcoin on the Market

The U.S DoJ has received the green light to sell a massive 69,370 Bitcoin units from the defunct Silk Road marketplace

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California has reportedly permitted the U.S. government to sell 69,370 Bitcoin (BTC) seized from the Silk Road platform’s hackers. 

This hacker stole the cryptocurrency by exploiting a weakness in the dark web marketplace. The hacker was arrested, leading to the recovery of this large amount of Bitcoin.

US Government On Guard to Recover Illegal Assets

Notably, the legal dispute over the seized funds has been heated. Several groups, including Battle Born Investments Company, First 100, and 1st One Hundred Holdings, tried to stop the government from selling the BTC. They were mainly concerned about who originally claimed the BTC. 

Battle Born Investments and the other groups wanted to use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to reveal the identity of that person or group, believing it could impact the case’s outcome. 

However, the U.S. District Court has allowed the government to sell 69,370 Bitcoin. The government plans to sell these assets through controlled auctions to avoid causing problems in the unstable Bitcoin market.

Meanwhile, the court’s decision highlights the government’s power to seize and sell assets linked to cybercrime. Despite objections, the court supports the government’s efforts to recover illegal assets. The proceeds from the Bitcoin sale will likely go to the U.S. government coffers. It could also be used to support various law enforcement programs.

The Unexpected Bitcoin Transfer

As reported by BGECrypto, the US government moved a huge amount of Bitcoin to an unknown wallet in July 2024. Arkham Intelligence disclosed that over $2 billion worth of BTC was transferred from the U.S. government coffers to a new wallet. The digital asset was seized from the Silk Road, an online dark web marketplace known for trading illegal drugs.

The website shut down in 2014, and authorities seized the coins that had been used on the platforms. This fund transfer came shortly after presidential candidate Donald Trump pledged not to sell any seized BTC if elected. 

The intentions behind the transfer remained unclear. However, it sparked sell-off fears among crypto community members on X. Shortly after the news, the price of Bitcoin dropped from $70,000 to $67,826.22.

Meanwhile, venture capitalist Adam Cochran reassured users that the transfer may not necessarily mean a sell-off. He guessed that the unknown wallet might belong to the Coinbase crypto exchange. This was because the U.S. Marshals Service awarded the exchange a contract to manage its large crypto holdings.

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