US Government Plans to Liquidate Over 41,000 Bitcoins Seized as part of a case related to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.
A document regarding the James Zhong judgment filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on March 31 states that U.S. government authorities have begun liquidating approximately 51,352 BTC seized in the Ulbricht case. Officials sold about 9,861 bitcoins for more than $215 million on March 14, leaving about 41,491 bitcoins, according to the filing.
“The government understands that [the seized Bitcoin] is expected to be liquidated in four tranches during this calendar year,” the court filing states. "The government understands from IRS Criminal Investigation - Asset Recovery & Investigative Services that the second round of liquidation will not be sold prior to Chung's sentencing date." In November, Chung pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges related to carrying out a 2012 scheme to steal bitcoin from Silk Road. U.S. authorities confiscated more than 50,000 bitcoins worth more than $3 billion at the time from his Georgia home in November 2021. By February 2022, the government has seized approximately $3.6 billion in connection with the 2016 Bitfinex hack, one of the largest cryptocurrencies ever seized by the government.
The Silk Road marketplace, which has been closed for 10 years, originally allowed users to buy and sell illegal goods, including weapons and stolen credit card information. However, the marketplace also caught the attention of U.S. authorities, who arrested Ulbricht in 2013. He is currently serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole.
The price of BTC has had a volatile month, falling below $20,000 on March 10 before rising above $29,000 on March 29. At the time of publication, the price of BTC is $28,378.
