US may sell 69,370 Bitcoins seized from Silk Road case

Publicado em por

EUA-Bitcoin-BTC-bitcoins

The recent ruling by the United States Supreme Court allows the American government to sell the 69,370 Bitcoins (BTC) seized from the online black market known as Silk Road. Economist Peter Schiff, a well-known Bitcoin critic, warned that this sale could happen soon. This could have a major impact on the cryptocurrency market.

Silk Road was an anonymous online marketplace, active between 2011 and 2013, created by Ross Ulbricht, who is currently serving a life sentence for crimes including money laundering and drug trafficking. During the investigation, authorities confiscated a large amount of Bitcoins that were in the platform's possession.

Schiff commented, in a post on the social network X on October 9, that the US government could be preparing to sell the 69,370 Bitcoins. At the current price, these cryptocurrencies are worth around US$4.3 billion. He described the move as “smart” and even suggested that Michael Saylor, president of MicroStrategy and Bitcoin enthusiast, should consider lending this amount to acquire the assets.

  • Read also: TON network reaches 100 million users

Will the US flood the Bitcoin market?

The decision authorizing the sale of Bitcoins was confirmed by a ruling from the Northern District Court of California, which determined that the government must liquidate the seized Bitcoins in accordance with current laws.

The case reached the Supreme Court following an appeal by Battle Born Investments. The company claimed that a person identified only as “Individual X” had stolen the Bitcoins. Therefore, BTC belonged to the company through an inheritance related to the Silk Road bankruptcy. However, the court ruled against Battle Born, and the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal. This paved the way for the sale of the assets.

Responsibility for settlement will be the responsibility of the US Marshals Service. The department will manage the Bitcoin auction after completing legal formalities.

Meanwhile, the price of Bitcoin was around $61,340 at the time of publishing, registering a 1.2% drop in the last 24 hours. Even with the slight retraction, the cryptocurrency appreciated by 8.3% in the last month, according to data from CoinGecko.

It is not yet clear whether the US government will fully sell the seized Bitcoins, but it is possible that this action will cause great volatility in the market.

  • Also read: Ethereum update could make blocks 33% faster

The post USA can sell 69,370 Bitcoins seized from the Silk Road case appeared first on CriptoFacil.