ChainCatcher news, according to Protos, the US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal for 69,370 bitcoins related to Silk Road, effectively lifting restrictions on the sale of $4.4 billion worth of bitcoins. Battle Born Investments purchased bankruptcy claims after Ross Ulbricht's dark web market Silk Road collapsed in 2013. Battle Born claims to own bitcoins seized from "Individual X", which were stolen from Silk Road by Individual X. The controversial wallet is 1HQ3...Hbhx, which has now been emptied and is in the custody of the US government, awaiting court instructions.
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 forfeiture order is likely to prevail. Although there are still some formalities and legal reviews 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.
