The U.S. Marshals Service can proceed with the sale of 69,370 Bitcoin (BTC) seized by the Department of Justice (DOJ) from underground online marketplace Silk Road.
This comes after the Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit challenging the ownership of the seized assets.
US Marshall Service gives green light to Silk Road Bitcoin sale
In a development on Monday, the Supreme Court decided not to hear Battle Born Investments' appeal. The ruling effectively upholds a 2022 ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. A district court subsequently ruled that the government had liquidated Bitcoin under current law.
Battle Born Investments claimed in its appeal that it acquired the rights to the 69,370 bitcoins in question through a bankruptcy estate connected to Silk Road. Additionally, the Nevada-based lender claimed that an anonymous “Individual X” stole the BTC taken from Silk Road.
Read more: Who will own the most Bitcoin in 2024?
Continue of of the court This decision allows the U.S. government to: We will proceed with the sale of 69,370 BTC worth $4.4 billion. The USMS will be in charge of the sale, which could go down in history as the largest sale of confiscated Bitcoin.
As reported by BeInCrypto, the US government has already moved a significant portion of the seized Bitcoin. According to blockchain tracker Arkham, $2 billion in Bitcoin seized by the Justice Department was transferred to new addresses in late July, followed by another $593.5 million in BTC in mid-August.
All signs suggest that Coinbase Prime is acting as a custodian for Bitcoin, given its custodial agreement with USSMS. Some observers are linking the expected sell-off to the upcoming U.S. election, which is just weeks away.
“Trump promised never to sell the U.S. government’s Bitcoin. Two days later, the Biden-Harris administration moved $2 billion in Silk Road Bitcoin. Looks great and resets our industry.” It’s a great way to do that,” said Gemini founder Tyler Winklevoss.
Similarly, economist Peter Schiff suggested that President Donald Trump's comments may have prompted the Biden administration to act quickly. Schiff criticized President Trump for revealing plans to halt government sales of bitcoin before he took office, saying the announcement may have accelerated the administration's actions.
Financial lawyer Scott Johnson also predicted such a sale, pointing out that the multiple moves into storage were politically motivated preparations. He expects more details to emerge in the Justice Department's 2024 fiscal year report, as the USMS will disclose sales at a time of its choosing.
“Whenever a transfer is ultimately made to Coinbase Prime (or any other mixed exchange address), you can see that USMS has already been sold or will be sold soon,” Johnsson shared.
Read more: How to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and everything you need to know
Meanwhile, the market is bracing for the expected sales impact, especially in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling. A sudden influx of Bitcoin could cause a supply shock, limiting Bitcoin price growth. However, if sales occur over-the-counter (OTC) or over an extended period of time, the impact on the market may be reduced.
At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $62,461, down nearly 2% in the past 24 hours, according to BeInCrypto data.
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