The US authorities plans to liquidate greater than 41,000 Bitcoin (BTC) seized as a part of a case related to Silk Street creator Ross Ulbricht.
A March 31 submitting with U.S. District Courtroom for the Southern District of New York relating to the sentencing of James Zhong said U.S. authorities authorities had begun liquidating roughly 51,352 BTC seized within the Ulbricht case. Based on the submitting, officers offered roughly 9,861 BTC for greater than $215 million on March 14, leaving roughly 41,491 BTC.
“The Authorities understands [the seized Bitcoin] is predicted to be liquidated in 4 extra batches over the course of this calendar 12 months,” stated the court docket submitting. “The Authorities understands from IRS Legal Investigation – Asset Restoration & Investigative Providers that the second spherical of liquidation is not going to be offered previous to Zhong’s sentencing date.”
In November, Zhong pled responsible to wire fraud costs associated to executing a scheme to steal Bitcoin from Silk Street in 2012. U.S. authorities seized greater than 50,000 BTC — price greater than $3 billion on the time — from his Georgia dwelling in November 2021. It was one of many largest crypto seizures by the federal government till the February 2022 restoration of roughly $3.6 billion related to the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
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The Silk Street market, which has been defunct for 10 years, initially allowed customers to purchase and promote illicit items, together with weapons and stolen bank card info. Nevertheless, {the marketplace} additionally drew the eye of U.S. authorities, who arrested Ulbricht in 2013. He’s at present serving two life sentences with out the opportunity of parole.
I used to be arrested on the age of 29 and in the present day I flip 39. I’ve misplaced my 30s to jail.
Throughout that point, I’ve completed my greatest to be taught from my errors, higher myself, and assist others do the identical.
I hope sometime I could make amends as a free man as effectively.
— Ross Ulbricht (@RealRossU) March 27, 2023
The worth of BTC has had a risky month, dipping beneath $20,000 on March 10 and shifting above $29,000 on March 29. On the time of publication, BTC’s worth was $28,378.
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