US Government Announces Sale of Seized $130 Million Bitcoin Assets, Alongside 69,000 Pending Disposals

US Government Announces Sale of Seized $130 Million Bitcoin Assets, Alongside 69,000 Pending Disposals

US Government Announces Sale of Seized $130 Million Bitcoin Assets, Alongside 69,000 Pending Disposals

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The US government will liquidate the confiscated 130 million BTC
The US government also holds 69,000 BTC
According to a recent notification submitted by the US government on January 8th

The document shows that the US government has been granted approval by a Maryland court to sell 2,875 bitcoins (BTC) related to a Silk Road drug case. The document states that the US government will dispose of these bitcoins in accordance with the instructions of the US Attorney General, and the value of the seized bitcoins is approximately $133 million at the time of submission.

According to the indictment, the accused drug dealer is Ryan Farace, who operated under the alias “XANAXMAN” on the dark web marketplace Silk Road and earned over 9,100 BTC through drug transactions using bitcoin. In addition, Ryan Farace’s father Joseph Farace and former Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges were also sentenced to imprisonment for money laundering and other serious crimes in this case.
The US Attorney General will provide instructions on how to handle the confiscated assets. According to the document, starting from January 10, 2024, stakeholders other than the defendants have 60 days to submit supplemental petitions. After this deadline, the US government will obtain clear ownership of the assets and can transfer the rightful ownership to any subsequent buyers or transferees.
In fact, in December of last year, the US Court of Appeals approved an order formally authorizing the seizure of 69,370 bitcoins and other cryptocurrency funds related to the now defunct Silk Road. The US Department of Justice began sealing and seeking formal confiscation of these bitcoins as early as 2020. The judgment was initially made in August of last year and was officially announced in December.
Market observers have been closely watching the flow of these funds and believe that the US government’s large-scale sale of these bitcoins could have an impact on the price of cryptocurrencies.