US Government Gets Green Light to Liquidate $6.5 Billion in Seized Silk Road Bitcoin

The US authorities may soon liquidate the seized BTC to prevent loss amid market volatility concerns.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has been authorized to sell approximately 69,370 Bitcoin seized from the infamous Silk Road darknet marketplace, valued at around $6.5 billion. This decision marks the end of a lengthy legal dispute regarding the ownership of these assets.

Key Takeaways

• The DOJ received approval to liquidate the seized Bitcoin despite opposition from Battle Born Investments, which attempted to block the sale.
• A federal judge ruled in favor of the DOJ's request to liquidate the assets, emphasizing Bitcoin's price volatility as a reason for a swift sale.

On December 30, a federal judge confirmed the DOJ’s request to proceed with the sale. Battle Born Investments, which claimed ownership through a bankruptcy estate, sought to delay the sale and pursued a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to uncover the identity of “Individual X,” who surrendered the Bitcoin, but was unsuccessful.

Battle Born's legal team criticized the DOJ, alleging that the department used “procedural trickery” in its handling of the case. Despite these claims, the DOJ will move forward in accordance with the court's ruling.

In a related update, the US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Battle Born, clearing the way for the sale. The US Marshals Service is expected to oversee the liquidation process, which could become one of the largest sales of seized cryptocurrency in history.

Recent news about the sale briefly affected the market, causing Bitcoin's price to drop from approximately $95,000 to $93,800, with current trading around $94,300, reflecting a nearly 3% decline in the last 24 hours. As of now, the DOJ has yet to release an official statement regarding the sale, and this situation remains developing.