The country's Court of Appeal has approved the withdrawal of cryptocurrencies from the infamous platform.
The US Court of Appeals has approved the final decision to confiscate 69,370 bitcoins (more than $3 billion) and several other cryptocurrencies that previously belonged to the closed Silk Road trading platform .
As follows from the court documents, on December 20, the US District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit confirmed the transfer of bitcoins under federal control. In addition to bitcoins, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin SV and Bitcoin Cash were withdrawn. The list of defendants in the case is headed by Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, as well as two applicants from the defense and representatives of the US government as plaintiffs.
The original court decision on Silk Road bitcoins was made back in August. This was preceded by their arrest by the US Department of Justice in 2020 and a request for official confiscation of cryptocurrencies. Then the estimated value of the withdrawn bitcoins exceeded 1 billion dollars
According to the 2020 lawsuit, the US government obtained the cryptocurrency from a hacker known as"Individual X". He hacked Silk Road and gained control of its funds. According to Cointelegraph, the attacker was later identified as James Jaune. In April, he was sentenced to a year in federal prison.
On July 12, a cryptocurrency wallet owned by the US Department of Justice conducted several transactions, transferring about 9,825.25 BTC worth about $299 million associated with Silk Road. These actions have attracted the attention of cryptanalysts, who carefully monitor the movement of these funds, since large-scale sales by the US government can seriously affect the market value of bitcoin.
Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison, founded Silk Road and ran the platform from 2011 to 2013. The site became famous for selling drugs and weapons, and was shut down at the end of 2013 after Ulbricht's arrest. In 2022, Ulbricht agreed to use $3 billion worth of stolen bitcoins to pay off his debt to the US government. In addition, he dropped his claim for 69,470 bitcoins.
The US Court of Appeals has approved the final decision to confiscate 69,370 bitcoins (more than $3 billion) and several other cryptocurrencies that previously belonged to the closed Silk Road trading platform .
As follows from the court documents, on December 20, the US District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit confirmed the transfer of bitcoins under federal control. In addition to bitcoins, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin SV and Bitcoin Cash were withdrawn. The list of defendants in the case is headed by Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, as well as two applicants from the defense and representatives of the US government as plaintiffs.
The original court decision on Silk Road bitcoins was made back in August. This was preceded by their arrest by the US Department of Justice in 2020 and a request for official confiscation of cryptocurrencies. Then the estimated value of the withdrawn bitcoins exceeded 1 billion dollars
According to the 2020 lawsuit, the US government obtained the cryptocurrency from a hacker known as"Individual X". He hacked Silk Road and gained control of its funds. According to Cointelegraph, the attacker was later identified as James Jaune. In April, he was sentenced to a year in federal prison.
On July 12, a cryptocurrency wallet owned by the US Department of Justice conducted several transactions, transferring about 9,825.25 BTC worth about $299 million associated with Silk Road. These actions have attracted the attention of cryptanalysts, who carefully monitor the movement of these funds, since large-scale sales by the US government can seriously affect the market value of bitcoin.
Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison, founded Silk Road and ran the platform from 2011 to 2013. The site became famous for selling drugs and weapons, and was shut down at the end of 2013 after Ulbricht's arrest. In 2022, Ulbricht agreed to use $3 billion worth of stolen bitcoins to pay off his debt to the US government. In addition, he dropped his claim for 69,470 bitcoins.
