US Court Greenlights Sale of $6.5B in Seized Silk Road Bitcoin

The United State government has been approved to sell a whopping $6.5 billion worth of Bitcoin confiscated in connection with the Silk Road crackdown. This development signals the closure of years of legal dispute over the assets. 

For context, the US government seized 69,370 Bitcoin from the owners of the darknet marketplace Silk Road. The platform operated from 2011 to 2013, serving as a hub for illegal activities such as drug sales. To keep their operations private, these malicious actors used Bitcoin as a payment method at the time.

Following the confiscation, the authorities have made efforts to sell the assets, but they have been slowed by a lawsuit filed by Battle Born Investments, which claimed ownership of the funds through a bankruptcy estate.

Silk Road Bitcoin Cleared for Sale

According to a December 30th court document, a federal US judge denied a motion to block the forfeiture of 69,370 Bitcoin, clearing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to sell the $6.5 billion assets. 

Following the court’s decision, counsel to Battle Born accused the DOJ of using ‘procedural trickery’ to abuse the Civil Asset Forfeiture process. 

Nevertheless, a DOJ spokesperson stated that the agency will proceed with the sale following the court’s judgment, citing Bitcoin’s price volatility as the primary reason why it needs to offload the assets.

Interestingly, this development comes less than two weeks before the inauguration of pro-crypto president Donald Trump. The incoming US president vowed never to sell America’s Bitcoin but to buy more as a strategic reserve asset.

Impact on BTC Price

As seen with similar moves, this development mounted heavy pressure on the broader crypto market. On Wednesday, the leading cryptocurrency fell from around $95,500 to $92,800. Although the asset had recovered slightly at the time of writing to $93,503, it was still down 2.23% in the past 24 hours.

Notably, El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele reacted to the court ruling, indicating that the incoming sale could crash Bitcoin value. He suggested that it might present the opportunity for investors to buy Bitcoin at discounted prices.