The U.S. court recently approved the sale of 69,370 bitcoins seized from the Silk Road market, valued at approximately $6.5 billion, thus ending a four-year legal dispute. This ruling marks the conclusion of the largest cryptocurrency seizure case in U.S. history and sets a precedent for the government's handling of seized digital assets. Although the court has approved the liquidation, the actual sale process will take some time due to various administrative procedures and potential appeals.

These bitcoins originate from the dark web trading platform Silk Road, which was shut down in 2013 and primarily engaged in illegal trading activities. In this case, despite facing numerous legal challenges and several claimants asserting ownership of these bitcoins, the U.S. court ultimately ruled that the bitcoins should be handled by the U.S. Department of Justice. Notably, some bitcoins had already been transferred to Coinbase prior to this, and on December 3, 2024, the U.S. government transferred nearly $2 billion worth of Silk Road bitcoins to Coinbase, reaching a custody agreement with Coinbase Prime through the U.S. Marshals Service.