The U.S. Courtroom of Appeals has authorised a confiscation order for cryptocurrencies related to the darknet platform Silk Highway.
The decision was adopted on Dec. 20. The court docket authorised the confiscation of 69,370 Bitcoins (BTC) and different cryptocurrencies as a part of the Silk Highway case. The defendants embody Silk Highway founder Ross Ulbricht and the U.S. authorities as plaintiffs.
Regardless that the choice was made in August, it’ll solely come into drive after the U.S. Courtroom of Appeals ruling. In accordance with the preliminary criticism, the U.S. authorities managed the cryptocurrency after it was transferred by so-called “Particular person X,” who hacked Silk Highway and gained management of its funds.
In 2020, the U.S. Division of Justice seized and commenced searching for formal confiscation of the cryptocurrency, valued at greater than $1 billion (greater than $3 billion at present charges). Ulbricht was taken into custody on Oct. 2, 2013. In 2015, a U.S. court docket sentenced him to 2 life sentences plus 40 years with out parole.
Confiscated Bitcoins make the U.S. authorities one of many largest holders of BTC. It owns about 195,000 BTC, nearly 1% of the entire provide. A lot of the belongings held in authorities accounts have been confiscated from cyber criminals.
Funds are saved offline in {hardware} wallets and are managed by the Division of Justice (DoJ), the Inner Income Service (IRS) and different companies. When a authorities company takes management of a cryptoasset, it doesn’t instantly turn out to be U.S. property. The court docket points a confiscation order, the federal government takes possession and transfers the asset to the U.S. Marshals Service, which subsequently liquidates it – changing it into fiat cash.