Silk Road Bitcoin Are ‘Almost Certainly’ Sold By US Gov, Claims Lawyer

1 month ago

Another transportation by the US authorities of primitively seized Bitcoin from the notorious Silk Road has sparked wide speculation connected Wednesday, August 14. Blockchain analytics steadfast Arkham reported yesterday that 10,000 Silk Road BTC, valued astatine astir $593.5 million, were transferred to Coinbase Prime, a level utilized chiefly for organization investors.

According to Arkham’s post connected X: 10,000 Silk Road BTC ($593.5M) moved to Coinbase Prime. Wallet bc1ql received 10K BTC from a known US Government wallet 2 weeks ago. This BTC has conscionable been sent connected to 33J, a Coinbase Prime deposit wallet.”

Is The US Gov Selling Bitcoin?

This transaction comes connected the heels of a June announcement from the US Marshals Service (USMS), portion of the Department of Justice, detailing a caller concern with Coinbase Prime to supply custody and precocious trading services for the agency’s “Class 1” (large cap) integer assets. The assemblage is torn implicit whether these moves signify the selling of the Bitcoin oregon simply a transportation for custody purposes. Thus, galore speculated that the US gov is not selling.

However, Scott Johnsson, a concern lawyer and wide spouse astatine Van Buren Capital, expressed a chiseled presumption today, arguing that the transaction signals a definitive merchantability of the seized assets by the US government. Johnsson remarked:

“Yes, US Marshal Service (USMS) is astir surely selling silk roadworthy Bitcoin […] USMS has been sending BTC to a custodial code required by the presumption of the servicing statement […] Given the statement requires USMS assets stay wholly segregated, whenever a transportation is yet made to CB premier (or different commingled speech address), you tin beryllium definite USMS has already sold oregon is selling imminently.”

Johnsson further supported his assertion by referencing the DOJ’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) study and the crypto services statement RFP, which stipulate the accelerated liquidation of assets wrong 5 concern days of forfeiture and the necessity of segregated wallet addresses to forestall co-mingling with different assets.

It states: “The USMS intends to resoluteness this contented utilizing its planned cryptocurrency services contract, which volition necessitate the contractor to liquidate cryptocurrency wrong 5 concern days of the plus being forfeited.”

Johnsson anticipates that ceremonial confirmation of these income mightiness not look until the work of the DOJ’s Asset Forfeiture Program FY2024 study successful January. However, the unfolding events could supply earlier indications arsenic much details go disposable done authoritative channels oregon consequent plus movements.

“Official confirmation volition definitively travel (at the latest) upon the DOJ’s Asset Forfeiture Program FY2024 study successful January, if not earlier. I besides don’t deliberation it’s a coincidence this began successful earnest pursuing the Trump speech.”

Users connected X expressed their disorder regarding Johnsson’s analysis. Rodeo queried: “These coins were expected to beryllium sold by the extremity of past year[…] You’re saying the enactment of transferring these coins to Coinbase from their existent code is capable to connote selling due to the fact that the Coinbase addresses are not wholly segregated addresses?”

Responding to these concerns, Johnsson clarified: “Not needfully Coinbase unsocial (there’s an interim segregated custody step), but erstwhile they deed commingled addresses it’s tenable to infer they’re sold. And yea, determination was a backlog of forfeited BTC that was expected to beryllium sold already. Finalizing the services statement appears to person been (at slightest portion of) the clasp up.”

Notably, the latest BTC transaction by the US authorities comes conscionable a fewer weeks aft Republican statesmanlike campaigner Donald Trump proposed to found a “strategic nationalist Bitcoin stockpile” astatine the Bitcoin 2024 conference. After that, rumors emerged that Democrats nether the pb of Kamala Harris could bare the BTC holdings by the US authorities from confiscations. While Harris pleads to instrumentality a much pro-crypto stance, respective experts garbage this claim, based connected the latest actions by her.

At property time, BTC traded astatine $59,336.