The US government has reportedly moved more than $2 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) seized from the illicit online marketplace known as the Silk Road. The blockchain de-anonymizing platform Arkham Intelligence notes the government sent 10,000 BTC worth $669.35 million to one address and 19,800 BTC worth $1.33 billion to another. Arkham says the coin […]
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Market volatility and investor uncertainty increase as government actions impact Bitcoin prices, highlighting the sensitivity of crypto markets.
The post US government moves $2 billion in Bitcoin, price dips 1.3% appeared first on Crypto Briefing.
Questions abound concerning the Bitfinex and Silk Road funds if Trump is re-elected.
Donald Trump intends to make the United States the crypto capital of the planet. The former president promised this and more during a rousing speech given at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 27. But some of the Republican candidate’s comments may have been cause for consternation among cryptocurrency advocates.
While Trump’s speech largely centered on Bitcoin and the community surrounding it being a positive force for America, he did lay out some specifics. Chief among his promises was that the US wouldn’t part with its current Bitcoin stockpile, if he's re-elected.
Per Trump:
The US government allegedly transferred about 3,940 BTC to Coinbase, part of its holdings from the Silk Road seizure.
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Former United States President Donald Trump vows to free Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht if re-elected.
The former President of the United States Donald Trump has declared that he will commute Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht's prison sentence if he is re-elected in November's election.
"If you vote for me on day one I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbircht," Trump stated at the Libertarian Party’s National Convention in Washington on May 25.
"He's already served 11 years, we're going to get him home," he said of the creator of Silk Road — which is known as the first modern darknet market with a payment system built on Bitcoin (BTC).
Bitcoin (BTC) is flashing a bullish signal based on one historical factor, according to market intelligence platform Santiment. In a new thread, the crypto analytics firm says that it appears as if the top crypto asset by market cap is losing momentum after skyrocketing nearly 150% since October. However, Santiment notes that historically, the more […]
The post Bitcoin Flashing a Bullish Signal Due to This Historical Factor, According to Analytics Firm Santiment appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
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 […]
The post Silk Road Hacker Accidentally Showed Feds $70,000,000 Worth of Bitcoin on His Laptop Before Being Arrested: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
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.
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Magazine: US enforcement agencies are turning up the heat on crypto-related crime
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
