On the morning of January 9, as the market was declining, major cryptocurrency media reported a negative news story: 'The U.S. Department of Justice has approved the sale of $6.5 billion in seized Silk Road Bitcoin.' Following this news, Bitcoin fell below $94,000.
When it rains, it pours; there are continuous wails within the community. However, after verifying this news, Golden Finance found that the credibility of the source is low, and reporters did not find any official confirmation from the U.S. Department of Justice. Even if this news is true, based on past procedures for the Department of Justice selling seized Bitcoin, it is unlikely that they could sell these Bitcoins in the short term, meaning before Trump takes office. Trump has made a commitment that during his presidency, the U.S. will not sell any Bitcoin.
In summary, the U.S. Department of Justice will not actually sell the coins at this stage, and it will not bring selling pressure to the market.
There is only one source for this news.
According to reports from major cryptocurrency media, the sources linked to the news are all personal blogs posted by an individual on X.
Image source: Golden Finance
The subject of this account is a cryptocurrency news media outlet, but access to their website requires payment, and the membership fee is not low.
Image source: Golden Finance
Based on the above information, Golden Finance reporters believe that the credibility of the media is already low, and the brief statement posted on its X account, 'The U.S. Department of Justice has approved the sale of $6.5 billion in seized Silk Road Bitcoin,' does not specify a concrete source and cannot be verified.
Even if it's real news, the Department of Justice cannot sell the Bitcoins in its possession in the short term.
Golden Finance reviewed and sorted through the previous process of the U.S. Department of Justice selling its seized Bitcoin and found that even if this news is true, the Department would still be unable to sell its Bitcoins before Trump takes office.
The Bitcoin seized by the U.S. Department of Justice is generally auctioned by the U.S. Marshals Service, rather than being sold directly over-the-counter or on exchanges. This is similar to how the judicial department auctions off seized assets like real estate for profit, which is then remitted to the treasury.
Taking the 2020 U.S. Marshals Service auction process as an example, at that time approximately 4,040 Bitcoins were auctioned, which were involved in various federal criminal, civil, and administrative cases.
At that time, the news about the U.S. Marshals Service auctioning these Bitcoins was released on February 3, 2020, requiring potential bidders to register by February 12, with the auction taking place on February 18.
Image source: Golden Finance
According to the specific sales terms published by the U.S. Marshals Service at the time, the winning bidder should be prepared to wire the purchase funds to USMS on February 19, 2020. USMS will not transfer any Bitcoin until it confirms receipt of the buyer's funds.
In other words, from the time the news is released to the actual auction, when the auctioneer actually receives the Bitcoin, and then possibly sells it on the market, it may take more than half a month.
And now, there are only 11 days left until Trump takes office, and Golden Finance reporters did not find any recent news about the auction of seized Bitcoins on the U.S. Marshals Service's official website.
As can be seen, at least before Trump took office, the U.S. Department of Justice would not really sell the Bitcoin seized from Silk Road.
In summary, the widely circulated news this morning, which impacted the market, 'The U.S. Department of Justice has approved the sale of $6.5 billion in seized Silk Road Bitcoin,' is likely false.
This article is reproduced with permission from: (ForesightNews)
Original author: Jessy, Golden Finance
'It is rumored that the U.S. Department of Justice has been authorized to sell Bitcoin! Chinese media fact-check: How credible is this news?' This article was first published in 'Crypto City'.
