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US authorities move cryptocurrency confiscated from darknet worth more than $ 300 million
The US authorities are again moving bitcoins previously confiscated from the Silk Road darknet marketplace. In several transactions, government-affiliated wallets transferred more than 9,824 BTC (approximately $ 306 million at the time of writing).
According to the online data, on July 12, addresses belonging to the Ministry of Justice sent 8200 BTC (slightly more than $ 255 million) and 1118 BTC (more than $ 34 million) to two anonymous wallets in a series of transactions.
Another 506 bitcoins ($ 15.57 million) were transferred to another unknown address. Later, the cryptocurrency was distributed to several new wallets. According to PeckShield, 158 BTC (about $ 4.86 million) were transferred to the Binance crypto exchange.
As a reminder, in March 2023, the US government sold 9861 BTC for $ 215 million. This was only a part of the confiscated assets — 41,491 BTC that remained at that time. The authorities planned to liquidate the cryptocurrency in four batches during the year.
In 2015, the court found the founder of the Silk Road marketplace, Ross Ulbricht, guilty of running a darknet market and other crimes, including drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy. The offender was sentenced to life in prison.
In November 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice confiscated 69,370 BTC associated with Silk Road. According to court documents, the owner of the address under the pseudonym Individual X hacked the marketplace and stole the funds.
A year later, U.S. law enforcement officers searched the home of U.S. citizen James Zhong. They seized approximately 50,676 BTC ($ 3.36 billion at the time), $ 661,900 in cash, and precious metal bullion. In March 2022, he voluntarily handed over more than 1,004 BTC to the authorities that he had access to.
Later, Zhong pleaded guilty to illegally receiving 50,000 BTC on the Silk Road darknet marketplace. According to the case file, in September 2012, the defendant implemented a fraudulent scheme using fake accounts without offering or purchasing any goods or services on the platform. In April 2023, the American was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.