- Expected Bitcoin Sale
- Silk Road History and Seized Assets
- Officials’ Stance
American lawyer Scott Johnsson suggested that the recent transfer of Bitcoins linked to the defunct Silk Road marketplace to a Coinbase address might indicate preparations for their sale.
Expected Bitcoin Sale
In an August 16 post on X, Johnsson suggested that the U.S. Marshal Service, the agency responsible for disposing of seized assets, might be getting ready to sell Bitcoins confiscated from the Silk Road marketplace.
Silk Road History and Seized Assets
Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht was arrested shortly after the marketplace was shut down in 2013. The site's administrators then launched Silk Road 2.0, which was also shut down in 2014. Recently, the government transferred about $594 million worth of Bitcoins seized from Silk Road to a Coinbase Prime address, as confirmed by Arkham Intelligence data.
Officials’ Stance
Scott Johnsson, a general partner and lawyer at Van Buren Capital, believes that the transfer of Bitcoins to a Coinbase wallet is part of an agreement that the U.S. Marshal Service made with Coinbase in June. He anticipates that official confirmation of the sale might come in the Department of Justice’s asset forfeiture program’s fiscal year 2024 report. Interestingly, these actions occur following Donald Trump's statement that he would not sell any of the government's Bitcoin assets if he won a second term.
The U.S. Government may be planning to sell a substantial amount of Bitcoin seized from Silk Road, as indicated by recent asset movements and comments from officials.
