From Darknet to Auction Block: US Set To Sell $130 Million Silk Road-Linked Bitcoin Stash

The United States Government has unveiled a strategic initiative to divest approximately $130 million worth of Bitcoins that were originally confiscated in connection with the Silk Road, a now-defunct clandestine online marketplace.

A forfeiture notice that surfaced earlier this month has been made accessible on the internet recently.

In this notice, the government explicitly outlines its intentions to liquidate the seized cryptocurrency assets.

The public release of this information includes specific details on two distinct lots of Bitcoin earmarked for sale.

The first lot encompasses 2,800 Bitcoins, with an estimated value of around $129 million.

The second lot, comparatively smaller, comprises 58 Bitcoins, amounting to approximately $3 million in value.

The Bitcoin in question was previously owned by two individuals.

The first lot was confiscated from Ryan Farace, a resident of Maryland, who, along with his father, was found guilty of participating in a money laundering conspiracy related to illicit sales of Xanax on darknet markets.

The second lot, of smaller magnitude, was seized exclusively from Sean Bridges, a former U.S. Secret Service Special Agent involved in Silk Road investigations who misappropriated Bitcoin that the U.S. government had previously acquired.

These two lots of Bitcoin were seized during separate incidents, with the first lot being confiscated on February 10, 2021, in Memphis, Tennessee, and the second on May 11, 2021, in Arlington, Virginia.

The District Court in Maryland officially condemned and forfeited these Bitcoin assets to the U.S. government on January 8, 2024

Furthermore, the notice extends an opportunity for individuals, excluding the defendants, to assert their interest in the forfeited assets through an ancillary petition within a 60-day window from January 10th.

Additionally, provisions for petitions related to remission or mitigation are outlined, affording the possibility of clemency for a portion or the entirety of the seized Bitcoin subject to forfeiture.

Although the mentioned funds represent a fraction of the total assets seized in connection with Silk Road activities by the U.S. government, they underscore the significant financial impact of these investigations.

In addition to early seizures involving Silk Road's creator, Ross Ulbricht, dating back to 2013, notable seizures include the $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin acquired from James Zhong in 2022 and an additional $1 billion worth of Bitcoin confiscated around 2020.

As of December 2023, the U.S. government's Bitcoin holdings had reached an approximate value of $9 billion, encompassing assets from various sources and not limited solely to Silk Road-related seizures.

As of 3:10 a.m. ET on Friday, Bitcoin displayed resilience in the market, trading at $40,126.74. This price was accompanied by a robust 24-hour trading volume of $18.16 billion.

Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin's value has witnessed a modest 0.06% uptick, yet it has faced a 2.52% decrease in its worth throughout the previous seven days.

Bitcoin's circulating supply currently stands at 19.61 million BTC, solidifying its position as the world's largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. CoinMarketCap data confirms a substantial market cap of $786.84 billion for Bitcoin.