CoinVoice recently learned that according to Protos, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of 69,370 bitcoins related to the Silk Road, effectively lifting restrictions on the sale of $4.4 billion worth of bitcoins. Since the lower court ordered the U.S. government to "dispose of the confiscated defendant's property in accordance with the law," the U.S. Marshals or other agencies may soon receive court instructions to liquidate the large amount of bitcoins stolen from the Silk Road.

Battle Born Investments purchased bankruptcy claims after Ross Ulbricht’s dark web marketplace Silk Road collapsed in 2013. Battle Born claims to own bitcoins seized from “Individual X,” who had stolen the coins from Silk Road. The disputed wallets have now been emptied and are in the custody of the U.S. government, pending court orders.

Battle Born has requested a hearing on its claims, claiming that it is an "innocent owner of the defendant's property based on its status as a purchaser of the bankruptcy estate." However, since the nine judges will not hear the case this term, the U.S. District Court's forfeiture order is likely to prevail. Although some formalities and legal reviews need to be completed before the U.S. government can actually sell the Bitcoin, the U.S. Marshals may be able to auction off additional billions of dollars due to the Supreme Court's rejection. [Original link]