A U.S. court ultimately confirmed the confiscation of 69,370 Silk Road BTC

2023-12-21 07:52:41

The U.S. Court of Appeals has completed legal proceedings for the seizure of 69,370 BTC of Silk Road, a darknet marketplace that is now out of service.

According to court documents, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed the decision to transfer BTC to federal control. This enforcement action complements a previous ruling that confirmed the government’s rights to digital assets linked to illegal activities along the Silk Roads.

In addition to BTC, the seized BTC assets include BTC gold (BTG), BTC SV (BSV) and BTC cash (BCH).

Seizure of Silk Road Illegal Assets

The initial judgment on the Silk Road BTC was issued in August. It stems from the seizure of these cryptocurrencies by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2020 and filing a formal recovery motion. At that time, the value of the seized BTC was more than $1 billion.

The move was due to the transfer of 69,369 BTC from one wallet address, the first major activity for these assets since 2015. This act is of great concern because it involves funds dating back to the Silk Road, a platform notorious for its illegal trade in drugs and other illegal items.

Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road, is named as a defendant in the document. The site was shut down by the FBI in late 2013 following Ulbright’s arrest. In 2015, Ulbright was sentenced to two life sentences without release plus 40 years.

U.S. Government: One of the largest BTC holders

The U.S. government has become one of the largest holders of BTC through seizures related to criminal activity. As in the Silk Road case, these confiscated digital assets are securely stored in offline, encrypted hardware wallets. These agencies are managed by several federal agencies, such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

However, due to the complexity and length of the legal process, the government does not actively engage in transactions or seize market timing, and the actual liquidation process can take years. In legal proceedings, the government holds BTC as evidence or proceeds of a crime.

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