US Government Set to Sell $1.17B in Seized Bitcoin from Silk Road Case

The US government has announced plans to sell more than $1.17 billion worth of Bitcoin seized from hacker James Zhong, who was accused of stealing the virtual assets from the infamous Silk Road illicit marketplace in 2012.

This comes after a federal court filing revealed that the government had already sold 9,861 BTC from the total amount of approximately 51,351 BTC seized for over $215 million on March 14th.

With 41,491 BTC still remaining, the sale of the remaining assets would have a value of $1.175 billion at Bitcoin’s current value of $28,332. However, the government has stated that it will not sell the remaining BTC until after Zhong is sentenced, which is scheduled for April 14th.

The filing was made with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and pertains to the sentencing of Zhong, who was accused of tricking Silk Road’s payment processing system using fake accounts and rapid deposits and withdrawals of larger amounts to steal the Bitcoin.

Federal authorities eventually tracked down the stolen Bitcoin at Zhong’s Georgia home in 2021, when it was worth $3.6 billion.

Silk Road was a former darknet black market in operation from approximately 2011-2013, often associated with illegal activities such as money laundering and drug running. The case has been closely followed by many in the crypto industry, as it highlights the challenges of regulatory compliance and the use of cryptocurrencies in illegal activities.

The government’s sale of the seized Bitcoin assets will likely have a significant impact on the market, given the substantial amount of assets involved.