US Court Finalizes Forfeiture of Bitcoin Tied to Silk Road Case
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has officially finalized the forfeiture of over 69,000 BTC and other cryptocurrencies tied to the Silk Road marketplace. This decision comes three years after the seizure of the assets from the alleged hacker, Individual X.
Details of the Forfeiture
The formal judgment to forfeit the cryptocurrency was issued in August and is now in effect. The court filing names Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht as a defendant, with Individual X and the US government as the other parties involved.
The forfeiture was initiated after the cryptocurrencies were seized from Individual X, who signed a consent and agreement of forfeiture with the US Attorney’s Office in November 2020.
Value of the Seized Cryptocurrency
The US government initially seized the assets in 2020 when their total value was over $1 billion. Shortly before the seizure, 69,369 bitcoins were moved from a wallet address, marking the first activity since 2015. At the time, this wallet was the fourth largest Bitcoin wallet. The government described the seizure as the largest in the history of the Department of Justice.
Identity of Individual X
Court documents revealed that the US government knows the identity of Individual X, who signed the agreement to forfeit the assets. The government also disclosed that investigators used software tools and assistance from Chainalysis to identify 54 previously undetected Bitcoin transactions linked to Silk Road.
Hot Take: Seized Bitcoin from Silk Road Confiscation Is Finalized
The US Court of Appeals has officially concluded the forfeiture process for the over 69,000 bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies connected to the Silk Road case. This marks a significant development in the long-standing legal battle. The seized assets were tied to Individual X, who signed an agreement to forfeit them. The US government claims that these funds were hacked from Silk Road by Individual X. This forfeiture, valued at over $1 billion at the time of the seizure, is the largest in the history of the Department of Justice. The finalization of the judgment paves the way for the government to dispose of the cryptocurrency.
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