The United States government plans to sell $130 million of Bitcoin seized in connection with the infamous Silk Road marketplace.
The government filed a notice to sell, issued from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, relaying the government’s intention to dispose of two lots of Bitcoin in any manner the US Attorney General directs.
US Govt To Sell Seized BTC
According to the filing, the US government will sell the seized Bitcoin worth $130 million. The notice of the impending sale of the Bitcoin comes after a court-approved forfeiture of 69,000 BTC connected with the Silk Road case. According to a court filing, the judgment was made in August last year and cleared to come into effect in December. The sale will see the US government sell both lots of Bitcoin. This includes 2874.9 BTC, valued at $129 million, and a second lot of 58.7 BTC, valued at $3.3 million.
The notice also allows other individuals (except for the defendants) to claim interest on the forfeited assets via an ancillary petition filed within 60 days of the 10th of January. The notice also allows for remission or mitigation. This would allow the pardoning of some or all seized Bitcoin from the forfeiture. The sale led to more resolution of the outcome of the 144,000 BTC seized from the Silk Road marketplace.
BTC Previously Belonged To Two Individuals
The seized Bitcoin previously belonged to Ryan Farace and Sean Bridges. The first lot was seized from Ryan Farace, a Maryland individual convicted along with his father for a money laundering conspiracy that involved sales of Xanax on the darknet. The second lot was seized from Sean Bridges, a former US Secret Service Special Agent deeply involved in the Silk Road investigations.
Bridges stole the Bitcoin obtained by the US government. Both lots of Bitcoin were seized on different dates. The first was seized on the 10th of February in Memphis, while authorities seized the second on the 11th of May in Virginia. The Bitcoin was then condemned and forfeited to the US government in January 2024.
The stolen funds in question comprise only a tiny portion of the total seizures the US government has made through the Silk Road investigations. Apart from early seizures made from Silk Road mastermind Ross Ulbricht, the US government also seized $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin from James Zhong and $1 billion worth of Bitcoin in 2020. As of 2023, the US government holds a staggering $9 billion worth of Bitcoin.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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