The US Division of Justice (DOJ) has acquired a go-ahead to unload 69,000 BTC value $6.5 Billion which was seized from Silk Highway. As introduced by DB Information on Jan. 9, 2025, a federal decide issued the liquidation greenlight to DOJ on Dec.30, 2024.
This liquidation greenlight comes after a protracted authorized battle and is about to be the most important one in historical past. Due to this, the clearance may extremely have an effect on crypto market stability and the cryptocurrency regulatory framework. Moreover, the USA is simply two weeks away from a brand new administration that may be very pro-crypto and promised to not promote BTC
Background of the 69K Silk Highway Bitcoin Seizure
The Us authorities initially seized the Bitcoin in query from a person who was recognized as “particular person X.” US had a movement to liquidate the crypto which Particular person X had stolen from Silk Highway. Nevertheless, Battle Born Investments opposed the movement claiming to be the house owners of the Bitcoin by means of a default property.
Nonetheless, the agency’s efforts to stall the liquidation of the BTC stash have been unsuccessful. The Supreme Court docket dismissed the agency’s Freedom of Data Act (FOIA) case for Particular person X’s id revelation. This has allowed the BTC seizure by the DOJ to be legitimate, additional clearing the trail for liquidation of the Bitcoin in query.
Nevertheless, Battle Born Investments was not content material with the courtroom’s determination to disclaim the attraction. In relation to the FOIA case, the legal professional representing Battle Born mentioned that DOJ used procedural trickery to be sure that the reality would by no means come out.
Regardless of the discontentment, a DOJ spokesperson said that the US authorities will proceed as per the judgement of the case. However, the US Marshals Service will likely be answerable for overseeing the BTC liquidation.
BTC’s Worth Amid Silk Highway DOJ BTC Liquidation Information
Upon announcement of the information, the value of Bitcoin is dealing with a dip indicating some volatility though short-term. In response to Coinmarketcap, Bitcoin is at the moment buying and selling at $93,463.44.63 marking a 1.61% dip for the reason that Thursday buying and selling session kicked off.
BTC has recorded $63.22B in buying and selling quantity within the final 24 hours, displaying a 6% decline. Its market capitalization stands at $1.85 trillion with 21 Million BTC in circulation.
Buyers are at the moment dealing with lots of uncertainty therefore the drop in Bitcoin’s value. Nevertheless, transferring ahead varied components just like the second inauguration of Donald Trump because the US president may impression the value of Bitcoin and different cryptocurrencies positively.
Crypto Group’s Response
Silk Highway’s 69K BTC liquidation information has resulted in varied views from outstanding figures within the crypto sector. The CEO of CryptoQuant, Ki Younger Ju, as an illustration has requested the buyers to not panic.
Backing his “Don’t panic” assertion, Younger said; “Final yr, $379B entered the market based mostly on realized cap – roughly $1B per day. The U.S. govt promoting $6.5B could possibly be absorbed in only a week.” Younger’s assertion has indicated that the market is able to dealing with the liquidation with out a lot impression.
There’s additionally a heated debate about whether or not the $69K Bitcoin can be found. Some crypto neighborhood members are even arguing that the BTC had been already bought. A submit on X by a crypto fanatic (@trading_axe) with 85.2K followers, as an illustration, boldly said “there isn’t a Bitcoin left to promote.”
Nevertheless, the 69,000 Bitcoins are nonetheless within the FBI pockets as indicated by Blockchain.com. The pockets deal with clearly signifies that the cash had been recovered from Particular person X who stole the cash from Silk Highway. Primarily based on the substantial quantity of BTC be liquidated, how and when the sale will happen would possibly result in value volatility and large market disruption.
