Fun

US Government Plans to Sell Over 41,000 Bitcoins Confiscated from Silk Road Hacker

News Feed - 2023-04-02 02:04:30

US Government Plans to Sell Over 41,000 Bitcoins Confiscated from Silk Road Hacker


According to a court document filed on March 31, 2023, regarding the sentencing of James Zhong, who stole over 50,000 bitcoin from the Silk Road marketplace, the U.S. government plans to liquidate 41,490 bitcoin “over the course of this calendar year.” U.S. Government Discloses Strategy for Selling Confiscated Bitcoin


The U.S. government, one of the largest holders of bitcoin, plans to sell 41,490 BTC in 2023, according to a court filing submitted in the case of James Zhong’s sentencing. The government made the historic bitcoin seizure in November 2022 when it confiscated over 50,000 BTC from Zhong. The defendant pleaded guilty “to committing wire fraud in September 2012 when he unlawfully obtained over 50,000 bitcoin from the Silk Road dark web internet marketplace.”


Bitcoin.com News reported six days ago that, according to Dune Analytics data and public disclosures, the U.S. government holds 205,515 BTC. In the filing submitted on Friday, federal authorities plan to sell at least 41,490 BTC worth $1.17 billion at today’s exchange rates.


The court document notes, “With respect to the 51,351.89785803 bitcoin forfeited in the Ulbricht case before Judge Schofield, the government has begun liquidating (selling) it. On March 14, 2023, the government sold 9,861.1707894 BTC (of the 51,351.89785803 BTC) for a total of $215,738,154.98.”


According to onchain analytics firm Glassnode, the sale of 9,861 BTC was detected, or at least the period of time when it was sent to a major exchange prior to selling. “Of the bitcoin forfeited in the Ulbricht case, there remains approximately 41,490.72 BTC, which the government expects to be liquidated in four more batches over the course of this calendar year,” the filing adds.


Glassnode’s account of the onchain transfer explains that the funds were likely sent to Coinbase. If the funds were sold on Coinbase, it would be different from the U.S. government’s previous auction style of selling seized crypto assets. When the government sells the 41,490 BTC, it will still have 164,025 BTC, or $4.65 billion worth, remaining. Tags in this story Analytics, Asset, Auction, Bitcoin, bitcoin sale, Blockchain, BTC, Coinbase, confiscation, Criminal Investigation, Cryptocurrency, Currency, dark web, Digital, Exchange, Fed sale, financial, forfeiture, Fraud, glassnode, James Zhong, Liquidation, Marketplace, prosecution, Seizure, sentencing, Silk Road, Ulbricht, US government, Wire Fraud


What do you think of the U.S. government’s decision to liquidate its seized bitcoin? Share your thoughts in the comments section below. Jamie Redman


Jamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 6,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today. FTX EU Launches New Website for Withdrawals as Subsidiary Starts Returning Funds to Customers NEWS | 4 hours ago South Korean Court Denies Arrest Warrant for Terraform Co-Founder Daniel Shin NEWS | 17 hours ago


Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons Previous articleMarch Bitcoin Mining Stats Show Climbing Revenue and Hashrate Highs Next articleThe Rapid Rise of IXFI Exchange – Now the World’s Biggest Buy Crypto Platform Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article. Read disclaimerShow comments More Popular NewsIn Case You Missed ItCentral Bank of Brazil Confirms It Will Run a Pilot Test for Its CBDC This Year


The Central Bank of Brazil has confirmed that the institution will run a pilot test regarding the implementation of its proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital real. Roberto Campos Neto, president of the bank, also stated that this ... read more.Tony Hawk"s Latest NFTs to Come With Signed Physical Skateboards NFT Sales Volume Saw a Small Uptick This Week — Moonbirds, Mutant Apes Take Top Sales Goldman Predicts US Recession Odds at 35% in 2 Years, John Mauldin Wouldn"t Be Surprised if Stocks Fell 40% Survey: Adoption in Argentina Grows, With 12 out of 100 Adults Having Invested in Crypto

News Feed

Tom Mitchelhill6 hours agoBinance Australia GM ‘really confident’ regulators will side with cryptoBen Rose is hopeful that Binance Australia’s banking woes will be relieved by positive regulation in the future.2671
$SAI’s Skyrocket on Friday Shows Enormous Potential in Bitcoin Heating
$SAI"s Skyrocket on Friday Shows Enormous Potential in Bitcoin Heating press release PRESS RELEASE.SAITECHLimited (SAI for short), a clean energy and computing operator based in Sin
Prashant Jha1 hour agoDeFi activity on the decline, but investment rolls in: Finance RedefinedThe total value locked in DeFi plunged by nearly $5 billion in the past week, falling to $44 billion, according to DappRadar d
Decentralized Exchange Trading Volumes Remain Lackluster in the New Year, Uniswap Leads the Way with Daily Swaps
Decentralized Exchange Trading Volumes Remain Lackluster in the New Year, Uniswap Leads the Way with Daily Swaps According to statistics, decentralized exchange (dex) monthly tradi
X suspends account that let users launch memecoins from an X post
Martin Young3 hours agoX suspends account that let users launch memecoins from an X postThe "makenowmeme" account on X purportedly provided a way for X users to create memecoins on Solana with a simple post.943
Chinese Miners Pivot to Alternative Currencies to Keep Operating
Chinese Miners Pivot to Alternative Currencies to Keep Operating The Chinese mining crackdown forced many miners to stop their operations and relocate. But anoth
Bitcoin Core dev receives grant for maintaining BIP repository
Ezra Reguerra11 hours agoBitcoin Core dev receives grant for maintaining BIP repositoryDeveloper Jon Atack believes that Bitcoin plays a role in human freedom, decentralization of power, privacy and self-sovereignty. 17
Rakesh Upadhyay4 hours agoSOL, LINK, NEAR and THETA flash bullish as Bitcoin takes a breatherBitcoin price range trades as SOL, LINK, NEAR and THETA play catch up.2311 Total views7 Total sharesListen to article 0:00Price
Helen Partz10 hours agoBitfarms increases mining pace, generates 411 BTC in SeptemberBitfarms, one of the largest Bitcoin miners in the world, believes that many of its best growth opportunities will arise from the upcom
Biggest Movers: UNI Moves Into Top 20, as SHIB Hits Highest Point Since May
Biggest Movers: UNI Moves Into Top 20, as SHIB Hits Highest Point Since May Uniswap moved into the crypto top 20 on Wednesday, relegating MATIC, after surging by over 10% today. UN
Bitcoin breaks 18-month hashrate uptrend: Are BTC miners capitulating?
Zoltan Vardai12 hours agoBitcoin breaks 18-month hashrate uptrend: Are BTC miners capitulating?Despite the drop in hashrate, Bitcoin miner selling isn’t correlated with the BTC price drop from $71,100 to $66,000.10092
Grayscale Investments Asks Investors to Help Convince SEC to Approve Bitcoin Spot ETF
Grayscale Investments Asks Investors to Help Convince SEC to Approve Bitcoin Spot ETF Grayscale Investments, the world’s largest digital asset manager, has launched a campai