Key Takeaways
- The US Department of Justice was approved to sell 69,370 Bitcoin seized from Silk Road.
- Battle Born Investments opposed the sale but failed to block it.
The US Department of Justice received court approval to sell 69,370 Bitcoin worth $6.5 billion seized from the Silk Road darknet marketplace, DB News reported Wednesday.
The US Govt has been given the greenlight to liquidate 69,000 BTC ($6.5B) from Silk Road, an official confirmed to DB News today
Interesting situation less than 2 weeks away from the new admin who vowed to not sell https://t.co/HqD1KnhJK3 pic.twitter.com/xn8ATSEL7H
— db (@tier10k) January 9, 2025
As reported, a federal judge ruled on December 30 in favor of the DOJ’s request to liquidate the crypto assets, despite opposition from Battle Born Investments, which claimed ownership through a bankruptcy estate.
Battle Born attempted to block the sale and filed a Freedom of Information Act request to uncover the identity of “Individual X” who initially surrendered the Bitcoin. Both efforts were unsuccessful.
Battle Born’s legal counsel criticized the DOJ’s handling of the case, alleging the department employed “procedural trickery” in its use of civil asset forfeiture to avoid scrutiny.
The Justice Department cited Bitcoin’s price volatility as motivation for seeking a quick sale of the seized assets, indicating concerns about potential value depreciation.
The seized Bitcoin originated from Silk Road, an online black market that was shut down by law enforcement authorities.
This is a developing story.
Source: https://cryptobriefing.com/doj-silk-road-bitcoin-sale/