US Govt. Formally Seizes ~70,000 Bitcoins from Silk Road

On Wednesday, December 20, a U.S. appeals court issued a mandate formalizing the forfeiture of 69,370 bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies linked to the now-defunct Silk Road dark web marketplace.

The initial judgment, dated August, has now been solidified, as confirmed by a filing in the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday.

US Govt. Can Now Control Silk Road Bitcoins

The court document lists Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht as a defendant, along with two claimants and the U.S. government as the plaintiff. This finalization of the forfeiture follows the U.S. government’s control of the cryptocurrency, which was previously acquired from a mysterious figure known as “Individual X.”

This individual purportedly hacked into Silk Road, gaining control of its funds, as outlined in the original complaint. The completion of this legal process underscores the government’s authority over the seized digital assets connected to the notorious dark web marketplace.

Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht, currently serving a life sentence, established and managed the notorious online marketplace from 2011 to 2013. The platform also facilitated the illicit trade of drugs and weapons before being forcibly closed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) upon Ulbricht’s arrest in late 2013.

Furthermore, in 2022, Ulbricht reached an agreement to allocate $3 billion worth of stolen bitcoin to settle debts with the U.S. government. As part of this arrangement, he also forfeited the rights to 69,470 Bitcoins.

Several days ago, a wallet address containing a substantial amount of Bitcoins, precisely 69,369, witnessed its first movement of funds since 2015.

Will US Govt. Hold or Sell the BTC?

Throughout the year, the US Govt. has been selling the Bitcoins recovered through the Silk Road route. Earlier this year in March, US officials sold nearly 10,000 Bitcoins while retaining 41,000+ BTC.

Considering that the Bitcoin price has moved up considerably by 100% since the beginning of 2023, the US govt. might think of holding them. Also, analysts are bullish over the spot Bitcoin ETF approval and the Bitcoin halving in 2024. Thus, they are already giving BTC price targets of $100K and more.