The U.S. Supreme Court has put an end to the legal battle over 69,370 Bitcoin that were seized from the Silk Road dark web marketplace. These BTC are worth around $4.4 billion. By refusing to accept the case, the Court has opened the way for the U.S. government to sell these bitcoins. Let’s explore what happened and what to expect next.
#### Battle Born’s Claim Falls Short
The legal tussle centered around a claim from Battle Born Investments, a company that argued it had legitimate rights to the seized Bitcoin. They built their case on the idea that they acquired the assets through a bankruptcy estate tied to a man named Raymond Ngan. Battle Born believed that Ngan was the infamous “Individual X,” a hacker who had stolen Bitcoin from Silk Road before surrendering the stolen funds to the authorities. However, both federal and appellate courts dismissed these claims.
#### The Dark Web and the Bitcoin Connection
To help you understand the significance of this matter, let’s summarize the 2013 Silk Road case. Ross Ulbricht founded the Silk Road platform in 2011, which became infamous as a hub for illegal activities. The Tor network hosted the website, where users could buy anything illegal, from drugs to weapons, by paying in Bitcoin. At its peak, the Silk Road facilitated millions of dollars in transactions. In 2013, the FBI shut down the marketplace and arrested Ulbricht.
The seized Bitcoin, tied to transactions on the platform, remained with the government, leading to this moment. Adding another twist to the tale, the IRS later traced several BTC transactions to “Individual X,” the hacker who stole Bitcoin from Silk Road before authorities shut it down. The U.S. government eventually seized those funds, marking it as the largest cryptocurrency seizure to date.
#### What’s Next for the Seized Bitcoin?
Now that the Supreme Court has refused to hear the case, the U.S. government can sell the seized BTC. The U.S. Marshals Service will oversee the sale, with some of the funds already moved to Coinbase Prime. It looks like they are ready to auction the Bitcoin. This sale could have broader implications not just for the crypto market but for the U.S. political environment as well.
During the Bitcoin Conference 2024 in Nashville, Presidential candidate Donald Trump shared his plans regarding these seized Bitcoin. He proposed using the seized BTC to create a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” for the U.S., suggesting that the current administration should hold Bitcoin instead of selling it, similar to the German government’s approach.
