A US court has cleared the way for the liquidation of 69,370 seized bitcoins from the dark web marketplace Silk Road. The US government could thus collect 6.5 billion dollars and get one over on future US President Donald Trump - but not without obstacles.
According to a leaked court document from December 30 this week, US District Judge Richard Seeborg has finally approved the sale of the largest Bitcoin holdings ever seized at federal level. The cryptocurrencies originated from Silk Road, an illegal dark web platform that was shut down in 2013. They represent the remains of transactions related to illegal activities.
With this decision, the claims of several plaintiffs have been finally dismissed. These include the investment firm Battle Born Investments, which had asserted its ownership rights as part of insolvency proceedings involving a person it believed to be the original owner.
The decision comes at a politically charged time, shortly before Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20. The US president-elect, who said at a crypto conference in Nashville last July: "Never sell your Bitcoins", also promised to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Selling the coins already owned by the state is therefore unlikely to be in his interest.
However, the ruling alone does not guarantee immediate liquidation, as asset forfeiture at the federal level involves multiple administrative steps and potential appeal options.
But it's not just the bureaucratic hurdles that make a sale of Bitcoin before Donald Trump's inauguration unlikely. It's also common for government agencies not to take controversial actions during the transition period before a new president takes office. Although the Democrats oppose Trump, they are likely to place more emphasis on their "good guy" image, which they campaigned on.
What impact do you think this will have on the $BTC (+2.44%) will have or, if it is implemented, how low it could fall
