Jessy Jinse Finance
On the morning of January 9, amidst a market drop, major cryptocurrency media reported a negative news item stating that 'The U.S. Department of Justice has approved the sale of $6.5 billion in seized Silk Road Bitcoin.' Upon this news, Bitcoin immediately fell below $94,000.
When it rains, it pours; there is constant wailing within the circle. However, after verifying this news, Jinse Finance found that the credibility of the source is low, and reporters did not find official confirmation from the U.S. Department of Justice. Even if this news is true, based on past procedures for the Department of Justice selling seized Bitcoin, it would also be unable to sell these Bitcoins in the short term, that is, before Trump takes office, and Trump has made a promise that the U.S. would not sell any Bitcoin during his presidency.
In summary, the U.S. Department of Justice will not actually sell Bitcoin at this stage, and it will not bring selling pressure to the market.
There is only one source of information.
According to reports from various cryptocurrency media, it can be found that the linked sources are all based on a message released by an individual blogger on X.
The entity behind this account is a cryptocurrency news media, but the media requires payment to browse its website, and the membership fee is not low.
Based on the above information, Jinse Finance reporters believe that the credibility of this media is already low, and the brief statement from its X account saying 'The U.S. Department of Justice has approved the sale of $6.5 billion in seized Silk Road Bitcoin.' does not specify a concrete source of information, and therefore cannot be verified.
Even if it is true news, the Department of Justice cannot sell its Bitcoin in the short term.
A review by Jinse Finance of the U.S. Department of Justice's previous process for selling seized Bitcoin found that even if this news is true, the Department of Justice would basically be unable to sell its Bitcoin before Trump took office.
The Bitcoin seized by the U.S. Department of Justice is generally auctioned by the U.S. Marshals Service, rather than sold directly OTC or through exchanges. This is similar to how the judicial department profits from the auction of seized real estate and other assets, then pays the proceeds into the national treasury.
Taking the 2020 U.S. Marshals auction process as an example, about 4,040 Bitcoins were auctioned at that time, which involved various federal criminal, civil, and administrative cases.
At that time, the news of the U.S. Marshals auctioning these Bitcoins was released on February 3, 2020, requiring potential bidders to complete registration by February 12, and the auction was held on February 18.
According to the specific sale terms published by the U.S. Marshals Service at that time, the winning bidder should prepare to wire the purchase funds to USMS by February 19, 2020; USMS will not transfer any Bitcoin before confirming receipt of the buyer's funds.
That is to say, from the release of the news to the actual auction and the auctioneer truly receiving the Bitcoins, it may take more than half a month before they are sold on the market.
At present, there are only 11 days left until Trump takes office, and Jinse Finance reporters did not find any recent news about the auction of seized Bitcoin on the U.S. Marshals Service official website.
It can be seen that at least before Trump takes office, the U.S. Department of Justice will not actually sell its seized Silk Road Bitcoins.
In summary, the widely circulated news this morning, which affected the market, 'The U.S. Department of Justice has approved the sale of $6.5 billion in seized Silk Road Bitcoin.' is likely to be false news.
