Silk Road
Silk Road Hacker Accidentally Showed Feds $70,000,000 Worth of Bitcoin on His Laptop Before Being Arrested: Report
Police body cam footage shows the Silk Road hacker opening up a laptop with thousands of Bitcoin (BTC) on it in front of federal investigators, not realizing he was incriminating himself. James Zhong was charged by the US government last year for stealing more than 50,000 BTC from the illicit online marketplace Silk Road in […]
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US government among largest Bitcoin hodlers with over $5B in BTC: Report
The $5-billion estimation is based on three major seizures linked to the Bitfinex hack and Silk Road, meaning the actual holdings could be much larger.
The United States government has become one of the largest Bitcoin (BTC) holders, with over 200,000 BTC worth more than $5 billion despite selling a few thousand BTC worth millions earlier this year.
According to a data analysis based on public filings, crypto firm 21.co estimated that the U.S. government still holds 194,188 BTC, estimated to be worth $5.3 billion. The firm noted in its analysis that these are “lower-bound estimations of the U.S. government holdings based on publicly available information.”
The analysis tracked the Bitcoin movement of the U.S. government wallets associated with the three largest BTC seizures since 2020, namely the Silk Road seizure of 69,369 BTC in November 2020, the Bitfinex Hack seizure of 94,643 BTC in January 2022, and the James Zhong seizure of 51,326 BTC in March 2022.
The government Bitcoin stash is kept primarily offline in encrypted storage devices known as hardware wallets kept under the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service. The U.S. government made two significant seizures in 2022.
Related: US government plans to sell 41K Bitcoin connected to Silk Road
Seized assets do not instantly belong to the government. The U.S. Marshals Service, the principal agency charged with selling seized property, only receives possession of the seized Bitcoin after a court issues a definitive forfeiture judgment.
The U.S. government also sells a portion of the seized Bitcoin from time to time through an auction system based on court liquidation orders. The most notable government auction dates back to 2014, when billionaire Tim Draper bought 30,000 BTC from U.S. government auctions in 2014.
However, in recent years, the U.S. government has turned to crypto exchanges to sell seized Bitcoin over public auctions. One such sale came in March earlier this year when the government sold 9,118 BTC on Coinbase, as confirmed through a public filing.
Collect this article as an NFT to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.
Magazine: US enforcement agencies are turning up the heat on crypto-related crime
Silk Road founder marks 10 years into his double life sentence in prison
Ross Ulbricht the founder of the first “modern darknet market” has reached the 10-year mark of his double life sentence in prison after having his laptop seized by the FBI in 2013.
The founder of the former online black market Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, marked 10 years behind bars after he was given a double life sentence by United States authorities in 2013.
On Oct. 2 Ulbricht posted on X that he has already spent a full decade in prison and fears he will spend the remainder of his life “behind concrete walls and locked doors.” He said all he can do now is “pray for mercy.”
One year for each finger on both hands.
— Ross Ulbricht (@RealRossU) October 1, 2023
Today ends a full decade in prison.
I sometimes fear I'll spend the rest of my life behind concrete walls and locked doors. But I have no one else to blame. It's my poor choices that led me here.
All I can do now is pray for mercy.
Silk Road began in 2011 and was run and operated by Ulbricht from his personal laptop under the username “Dread Pirate Roberts.” It is known as the first modern darknet market and had a payment system built on Bitcoin (BTC).
However, on Oct. 1, 2023, the laptop was seized by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 in federal court in the U.S. for various charges relating to the operations of the Silk Road. He was sentenced to two life terms, plus forty years and no possibility of parole.
According to the court documents for the case, while in operation the Silk Road site facilitated sales amounting to 9,519,664 Bitcoins (BTC) between February 2011 and July 2013, and took a commission of 600,000 Bitcoins (BTC).
At the time of publication of the court documents, this equaled approximately $1.2 billion in sales and around $80 million in commissions.
Related: September becomes the biggest month for crypto exploits in 2023: CertiK
Ulbricht’s case has received widespread attention, with many echoing calls for the website’s founder to be shown clemency.
According to a website fighting for justice for Ulbricht, over 250 organizations have backed these calls and half a million people have signed a virtual petition to free Ulbricht. He has also found great support among the crypto and Bitcoin communities.
Nearly makes me cry to see this post, the punishment didn’t suit the crime and people who have done much worse have had a chance of redemption, #freeross
— Soberclown.eth (@bitcoinnz) October 2, 2023
One user went so far as to deem Ulbricht as a "Bitcoin political prisoner" and said he is someone Bitcoiners can never forget.
Ross Ulbricht is a Bitcoin political prisoner.
— Phree ☢️ (@BitPhree) September 30, 2023
He has been in prison since 2013.
Some would prefer we forget him, but Bitcoiners never will.
—
Ross was sentenced by the federal government to 2 life sentences + 40 years with no parole.
As a first-time offender and convicted… pic.twitter.com/usPlbN79j1
While there is a powerful swell of support for Ulbricht and many internet users have voiced agreement that the punishments given to the Silk Road founder were unjust, there are others who see the outcome differently.
One X user pointed out that the prosecution in the case against Ulbricht claimed that he allegedly hired hitmen to have several people killed, though this wasn’t officially charged to Ulbricht and still remains a claim.
Is murder for hire legalized yet or no. Seems like the lede was buried a bit in this intro.
— Rob Freund (@RobertFreundLaw) October 2, 2023
Another user highlighted what actually happened on the Silk Road site, including sex trafficking and the drug trade, and how it was used by “terrible people to do this stuff.”
Silk road sold drugs, human trafficking and other things. Let's not pretend like it wasn't used by terrible people to do this stuff. That being said I'm sure that's not how he intended it to be used
— shoooooooo (@shoooiiiii) October 2, 2023
Debates online continue as Ulbricht defenders point to modern social media platforms such as X and Facebook, saying, “All of those things happen on [X] as well. And every other social media site."
The leading website dedicated to freeing Ross has posted the sentences dealt to others involved with the Silk Road saying that the average sentence is around six years. The top drug seller on the site was only given seven years in prison and is currently free.
Additionally, the creators of the Silk Road 2.0 have either served nothing or up to 6.5 years and are now all free.
Magazine: $3.4B of Bitcoin in a popcorn tin: The Silk Road hacker’s story
US Government Moves $305,000,000 Worth of Bitcoin (BTC) Seized From Silk Road Hackers
A massive stack of seized Bitcoin (BTC) belonging to the US government is on the move, on-chain data shows. According to Blockchain.com, an address labeled as “The US Department of Justice” sent a total of 9,825 BTC, worth around $302 million, to a series of addresses. It’s possible the Bitcoin is being sent to a […]
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Bitcoin fees plummet 95% as BTC price recovers from US gov’t scare
Bitcoin was not subject to U.S. government selling this week, analysis shows, but BTC price action remains pressured.
Bitcoin (BTC) struggled to recover from fresh losses on May 11 as a false alarm over United States government sales spooked markets.
Analysts deny U.S. government BTC sales
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD circling $27,400 at the time of writing.
The pair had seen a flash sell-off the day prior, briefly taking it to $26,850 after claims that confiscated BTC held by the U.S. government was being sold off.
This was subsequently disproved, but for already sensitive crypto markets, the damage was done.
Glassnode not showing any decline in the US Government's Bitcoin balance
— Will Clemente (@WClementeIII) May 10, 2023
4 pic.twitter.com/rJHcQ2B8Kc
Among traders, Jackis described the local lows as a “scam” move, while forecasting lower levels to come.
“When the move feels like a scam and trades likes a scam then treat it like it,” he tweeted.
“I do expect a breakdown lower sooner or later. I'm not yet sure how deep but prepared to act quickly if neccessary.”
Fellow trader Anbessa also confirmed that he was looking for further downside, like various others focusing on a target zone around the $25,000 mark.
#Bitcoin Roof Pattern
— AN₿ESSA (@Anbessa100) May 11, 2023
Consolidation at neckline $27369
after nailing all shorts starting from $30,4k
1.LONG breakout $27666 if you're tethered or
2.LONG here with a Stop Loss sub $27269
HTF pattern breakout above $28882
while I'm still looking for a throwback to $25,2k… pic.twitter.com/TYZXGyxNFz
Financial commentator Tedtalksmacro meanwhile called May 10 “just another day in crypto.”
In a Twitter summary of the day’s events, he added that U.S. inflation data had delivered for risk asset bulls, implying ongoing declines to come in the next few months.
Next-block Bitcoin fee dips under $2
In a silver lining for Bitcoiners, the past 24 hours saw a major shift in on-chain transaction fees, these deflating considerably after reaching levels which had caused widespread uproar.
Related: Binance ‘FUD’ meets CPI — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week
Live numbers from Mempool.space had next-block fee rates at 47 satoshis per byte at the time of writing, or just $1.80.
According to data from monitoring resource BitInfoCharts, even on May 10, the average fee had fallen below $15 — a drop of over 50% versus the day prior.
Reacting, Checkmate, lead on-chain analyst at Glassnode, took to task those who had called for code-changing measures to prevent fees from rising so heavily in future.
As Cointelegraph reported, fees had surged as a result of ordinals inscriptions greatly increasing on-chain activity and demand for block space.
“24hrs later, the average fees paid per block has returned to ~1.0 $BTC per block. Imagine arguing to change Bitcoin rules for a short-term fee spike due to people using the chain in ways you don't agree with,” he tweeted alongside a chart.
“Trying to change the rules is the attack, not the inscriptions.”
Magazine: Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Analytics Firm Glassnode Tackles Rumors That Mt. Gox and US Government’s Bitcoin Is on the Move
Crypto analytics firm Glassnode says the defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox is not moving Bitcoin (BTC) at this time. Mt. Gox used to handle over 70% of Bitcoin’s trading volume, but it went bankrupt in 2014 after the platform was hacked. Last July, the exchange announced its plans to disburse repayments to former customers in […]
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Bitcoin Whale Transfers $13 Million Worth of Dormant Coins Dating Back to 2012 and 2013
Following the transfer of $60 million worth of bitcoins on April 19, after more than nine years of dormancy, another whale has made its move. The whale, who acquired 1,129 bitcoins in 2012 and 2013, has transferred 464 bitcoins worth $13 million for the first time in nine years. 464 Bitcoin Move From an Old […]Silk Road Hacker Who Once Held Over $3,000,000,000 in BTC Sentenced to Prison by Feds 11 Years Later
A hacker once in possession of 50,000 Bitcoin (BTC) stolen from the internet marketplace Silk Road is being sentenced to federal prison. In a new press release, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says that James Zhong has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison for stealing about 50,000 BTC from Silk […]
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Silk Road Hacker Sentenced to a Year in Prison for Wire Fraud
On April 14, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the Southern District of New York revealed that the hacker responsible for the Silk Road marketplace breach had been sentenced to a year in prison for wire fraud charges. James Zhong stole more than 50,000 bitcoin from the darknet marketplace (DNM) in September 2012. DOJ […]