Key takeaways
- The US Department of Justice was authorized to sell 69,370 Bitcoin seized from Silk Road.
- Battle Born Investments opposed the sale but failed to block it.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has received court approval to sell approximately 69,370 Bitcoin seized in connection with the Silk Road darknet market, a move currently valued at approximately $6.5 billion, DB News reported on Wednesday. The decision is set to quit a year-long legal dispute over the ownership of the BTC stash.
The US government has given the green light to liquidate 69,000 BTC ($6.5 billion) from Silk Road, an official confirmed to DB News today
Interesting situation less than 2 weeks from the new admin who promised not to sell https://t.co/HqD1KnhJK3 pic.twitter.com/xn8ATSEL7H
— db (@tier10k) January 9, 2025
On Dec. 30, a federal judge ruled in favor of the DOJ’s request to liquidate the crypto assets, the report said. Battle Born Investments, which had claimed the Bitcoin stash through a bankruptcy estate, ultimately failed in his bid to delay the sale. The group had pursued a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the identity of “Individual X,” who initially handed over the Bitcoin, but the attempt also proved unsuccessful.
Battle Born’s legal counsel criticized the DOJ’s handling of the case, claim the department used “procedural tricks” in its use of civilian assets to avoid scrutiny.
The DOJ, in its arguments before the court, cited Bitcoin’s price volatility as motivation for seeking a quick sale of the seized assets. A DOJ spokesman, when contacted, said: “The government will proceed pursuant to the ruling in this case.”
The update comes after the US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal challenging the seizure of the Bitcoin hoards, brought by Battle Born last October. The decision likely paved the way for the US government to sell Bitcoin, which was then valued at $4.4 billion. The US Marshals Service is expected to handle the liquidation process, which, if confirmed, will be one of the largest sales of seized crypto in history.
The news of the DOJ’s permission to sell the seized Bitcoin depressed the market for a short time, with Bitcoin falling from around $95,000 to $93,800, CoinGecko data shows. It is now trading at around $94,300, down nearly 3% in the last 24 hours.
The DOJ has yet to issue a statement on this matter.
