U.S. Government to Liquidate 41,000 Bitcoin Connected to Silk Road
• The U.S. government plans to liquidate more than 41,000 Bitcoin (BTC) seized as part of a case connected to Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht.
• 9,861 BTC was sold for over $215 million on March 14, leaving roughly 41,491 BTC remaining in the seizure.
• The price of BTC has been volatile this month, dipping below $20K and moving above $29K throughout the month of March.
Background on the Seizure
In November 2021, James Zhong pled guilty to wire fraud charges related to executing a scheme to steal Bitcoin from Silk Road in 2012. As a result of his plea deal, U.S authorities seized more than 50,000 BTC — worth more than $3 billion at the time — from his Georgia home in November 2021. This was one of the largest crypto seizures by the government until February 2022 when it recovered roughly $3.6 billion connected to the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
Silk Road History
The Silk Road marketplace became active in 2011 and allowed users to buy and sell illicit goods including weapons and stolen credit card information using Bitcoin (BTC). In 2013 U.S authorities arrested Ross Ulbricht and shut down the site leading him being sentenced two life sentences without parole for his involvement with this underground market place..
Price Volatility
The price of BTC has had a volatile month with prices going from below $20K on March 10th and reaching above $29K on March 29th before settling around 28K at publication time .
Conclusion
With court documents filed on March 31st showing that US government had begun liquidating 51,352 BTC seized in this case it is clear that cryptocurrency remains attractive target for law enforcement agencies hoping to disrupt criminal activities online and reclaim funds associated with them .