As a seasoned analyst with over two decades of experience in the financial sector, I have witnessed numerous twists and turns in the world of digital assets. The recent decision by the United States Supreme Court to deny Battle Born Investment’s case over the ownership of Bitcoin seized from the Silk Road is yet another chapter in this fascinating narrative.
In simpler terms, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the legal claim by Battle Born Investment regarding a $4.38 billion worth of Bitcoin (69,370 units) that was confiscated by the U.S. from the online marketplace Silk Road.
On October 7, the U.S. Supreme Court released a document outlining various cases they are considering, among them being an appeal by Battle Born Investments concerning the legal ownership of 69,370 Bitcoins that were confiscated from the illegal Silk Road marketplace.
Battle Born Investments stated they obtained ownership of the confiscated Bitcoin (BTC) via a bankruptcy case. However, their argument was not convincing enough to the courts in both 2022 and 2023 when they tried to get the BTC through a bankruptcy claim following the closure of Silk Road in 2013.
Once more, the Supreme Court choosing not to hear the case implies that the U.S. government is now authorized to auction off the previously confiscated digital assets that were associated with Silk Road.
Come August mid-2024, as a researcher, I foresee the U.S Marshals making a move to sell off Silk Road’s Bitcoin reserves. This prediction stems from a post by Founders Fund, which disclosed data from Bitcoin explorer Tokenview. This data indicated that an astonishing 19,000 Bitcoins had been transferred into a Coinbase account.
Indeed, it appears that the U.S. Marshal Service (USMS) is likely transferring Silk Road bitcoins at this time, as Joey suggests. This is because the USMS has been moving BTC to a custodial address specified by the service agreement with Coinbase, which they entered into in June. The circumstances seem to support this claim for now.— Scott Johnsson (@SGJohnsson) August 16, 2024
About two weeks ago, a digital wallet associated with the U.S. government transferred 10,000 Bitcoins to the crypto brokerage platform Coinbase Prime, as reported by Arkham Intel. According to this source, U.S. authorities moved this stack of Bitcoin into a wallet identified as “bc1ql” recently.
Historically, when governments sell substantial quantities of cryptocurrency, it has resulted in significant market fluctuations. For instance, Bitcoin’s price decreased by 3.6% following the announcement, even though the price drop had already started prior to Coinbase Prime receiving the confiscated Silk Road funds.
Last month, it was reported by crypto.news that the U.S. administration transferred approximately $2 billion worth of Bitcoin to an entity thought to be Coinbase. This transaction took place shortly after former President Donald Trump expressed his intention to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve.
The Silk Road was a digital platform resembling a black market that emerged in 2011, masterminded by Ross Ulbricht, who went by the alias “Dread Pirate Roberts.
In October 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation closed down the Silk Road website and apprehended Ross Ulbricht. At present, he’s serving a life imprisonment term due to his involvement in money laundering schemes, drug distribution, and various other charges.
In May 2024, Donald Trump pledged to release Ulbricth from prison should he win the presidency.
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2024-10-08 10:05