Supreme Court Clears Path for $4.4B Silk Road Bitcoin Sale
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided not to intervene in the legal dispute surrounding 69,370 bitcoin seized from the infamous Silk Road marketplace, clearing the way for the sale of this old batch of BTC.
What's the Scoop?
- The highest court in the U.S. declined to hear an appeal in the case of Battle Born Investments, et al. v. United States, effectively upholding a 2022 ruling from the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
- This ruling orders the U.S. government to handle the liquidation of the seized bitcoin, which was originally stolen from the Silk Road by an individual known as “Individual X.”
- With this decision, the government could soon auction off the bitcoin, currently valued at ~$4.4 billion.
Bankless take:
The Supreme Court’s move could lead to one of the largest government sales of bitcoin in history. For comparison, when the German government sold its seized bitcoin earlier this summer, its aggregate sales netted them 2.64 billion euros, or roughly $2.9 billion USD. However, it’s likely the U.S. Marshals will auction these Silk Road funds off-market, so there won’t necessarily be a direct impact on the BTC price. Still, even just the narrative of sell pressure may temporarily spook the crypto space, so the U.S. government’s approach here will be something to watch closely going forward.