Supreme Court clears path for US to sell $4.4 billion in seized Silk Road Bitcoin

Key Takeaways

• Supreme Court paves way for US to sell $4.4 billion in Silk Road Bitcoin.
• Battle Born loses appeal as US preps for largest seized Bitcoin auction in history.

The US Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal regarding the ownership of 69,370 Bitcoin seized from the infamous Silk Road marketplace. This decision paves the way for the US government to move forward with selling the $4.4 billion worth of BTC.

The decision effectively upholds a 2022 ruling by the US District Court for the Northern District of California, which ordered the government to liquidate Bitcoin under existing laws.

The case, brought by Battle Born Investments, argued that the company had acquired rights to the Bitcoin through a bankruptcy estate connected to the Silk Road. Battle Born claimed that the Bitcoin was stolen by an individual known as “Individual X,” who allegedly took the funds from Silk Road.

However, the courts ruled against Battle Born, and with the Supreme Court declining to hear the appeal, the government is now free to auction off the Bitcoin.

The US Marshals Service is expected to handle the liquidation. While several formalities remain before the sale can proceed, this will likely result in one of the largest sales of seized Bitcoin in history.

The US government has already moved significant portions of the seized Silk Road Bitcoin in recent months, likely in preparation for the sale. It is also possible that Coinbase Prime, which has a custody agreement with the US Marshals Service, has been holding the assets on the government’s behalf during this period.

This arises as the handling of seized Bitcoin has become a point of debate in the 2024 election. In July, former President Donald Trump, speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, vowed to create a “strategic Bitcoin stockpile” and retain all government-seized Bitcoin if he is re-elected.