Bitcoin from Silk Road on the Move
Around 9,800 bitcoin associated with the Silk Road, a darknet marketplace, is being transferred in two unconfirmed transactions. This is the largest movement of funds from the Silk Road in months. The breakdown of the transactions is as follows:
– In the first transaction, 0.01 BTC is sent to the wallet 361yog, and 506 BTC is sent to a change address.
– In the second transaction, 8,200 BTC is sent to the same 361yog wallet, and 1,118 BTC is sent to a different change address.
Both transactions used the replace by fee function to speed up the process. The U.S. government seized over 50,000 bitcoin from James Zhong, who was involved in hacking bitcoin from the Silk Road. In June, there was a disputed movement of funds related to the Silk Road wallets. The U.S. government sold some of the seized bitcoin earlier this year and plans to sell the rest. It appears that the government has been selling the bitcoin on Coinbase, which is under scrutiny by the SEC.
Hot Take:
The movement of such a large amount of bitcoin from the Silk Road raises questions about the fate of these funds. It also highlights the ongoing efforts of the U.S. government to control and monitor cryptocurrency transactions. The sale of the seized bitcoin on Coinbase adds another layer of controversy, as the exchange is facing allegations of being an unregistered securities exchange. The future of these funds and the impact on the cryptocurrency market remain uncertain.