Jessy Golden Finance

On the morning of January 9, as the market fell, major cryptocurrency media reported a bearish news, stating that 'the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the sale of $6.5 billion worth of Silk Road Bitcoin that was seized.' As soon as this news broke, Bitcoin dropped below $94,000.

When it rains, it pours; the cries within the community are incessant. However, after verifying this information, Golden Finance found that the credibility of this news source is low, and the reporter could not find an official confirmation from the U.S. Department of Justice. Even if this news were true, based on past procedures for the Department of Justice's sale of seized Bitcoin, the Department would essentially be unable to sell these Bitcoins in the short term, specifically before Trump took office, and Trump had promised that during his presidency, the U.S. would not sell any Bitcoin.

In conclusion, the U.S. Department of Justice will not actually sell the coins at this stage, which will not bring selling pressure to the market.

There is only one source of information.

According to reports from major cryptocurrency media, it can be found that the linked sources of information are all messages posted by an individual blogger on X.

The account in question belongs to a cryptocurrency news media outlet, but the media requires a fee to browse its website, and the membership fee is not low.

Based on the above information, Golden Finance reporters believe that the credibility of this media outlet is already low, and its X account's brief statement 'the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the sale of $6.5 billion worth of Silk Road Bitcoin that was seized' does not specify the source of the information and therefore cannot be verified.

Even if the news is true, the Department of Justice cannot sell its Bitcoins in the short term.

Golden Finance reviewed the previous process of the U.S. Department of Justice selling its seized Bitcoins and found that even if this news were true, the Department would basically be unable to sell the Bitcoins in its possession before Trump took office.

The Bitcoins seized by the U.S. Department of Justice are generally auctioned by the U.S. Marshals Service and are not sold directly through OTC or exchanges. This is similar to how judicial authorities auction off seized properties, collectibles, and other assets for profit and then remit the proceeds to the treasury.

Taking the 2020 U.S. Marshals Service auction process as an example, at that time, approximately 4,040 Bitcoins were auctioned, involving various federal criminal, civil, and administrative cases.

At that time, the announcement of the auction of these Bitcoins by the U.S. Marshals Service was made on February 3, 2020, requiring potential bidders to complete their registration by February 12, and the auction was held on February 18.

According to the specific sale terms announced 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 until it confirms receipt of the buyer's purchase funds.

That is, from the time the news is released to when the auction actually takes place and the auctioneer actually receives the Bitcoins, it may take more than half a month before they are sold on the market.

And currently, there are only 11 days left until Trump takes office. Golden Finance reporters did not find any recent news about the auction of seized Bitcoins on the U.S. Marshals Service's official website.

It can be seen that at least before Trump takes office, the U.S. Department of Justice will not actually sell the seized Silk Road Bitcoins.

In summary, the rumor that 'the U.S. Department of Justice has approved the sale of $6.5 billion worth of Silk Road Bitcoin that was seized' has a high probability of being false and has affected the market this morning.