One of the largest bitcoin liquidations in history will put nearly 70,000 confiscated bitcoins from the darknet marketplace on the market.
The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) has obtained authorization to sell the bitcoins seized from the Silk Road marketplace. This amounts to 69,370 bitcoins, currently valued at approximately $6.5 billion, which could soon be released onto the market.
The decision, announced on December 30, marks the conclusion of a lengthy legal battle between the DoJ and Battle Born Investments, a company claiming rights to the confiscated bitcoins through bankruptcy proceedings. Despite Battle Born’s attempts to block the sale, including a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to uncover the identity of “Individual X,” who initially surrendered the bitcoins, U.S. justice sided with the Department.
The DoJ justified the urgency of the sale by citing the volatility of the digital asset market. The decision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court had already rejected an appeal from Battle Born last October, when the bitcoins were valued at $4.4 billion.
Following the announcement, Bitcoin’s price dropped from $95,000 to $93,500.
The sale, to be managed by the U.S. Marshals Service, will be one of the largest liquidations of confiscated bitcoins. A DoJ spokesperson stated that “the government will proceed in accordance with the case ruling,” although no details about the timing and procedures of the liquidation have been provided yet.
