US authorities have just announced plans to sell 117 million USD in confiscated Bitcoin in 2021, related to illegal activities on the "black market" Silk Road. This announcement was made on January 8, 2024, when US authorities announced that they would liquidate nearly 2,934 Bitcoins confiscated from Sean Bridges and Ryan Farace in 2021. Both individuals are connected to Silk Road, a "black market" famous for trading banned goods with Bitcoin, before being shut down in 2013.
According to information from the US government, at present, this amount of Bitcoin is worth approximately 117 million USD. This shows the extremely impressive growth of this cryptocurrency in recent times. In 2018, the US Department of Justice prosecuted Ryan Farace for allegedly trafficking banned substances through Silk Road. Farace confessed that he lost access to the Bitcoins obtained from the black market. The plot to disperse Farace's assets was discovered in 2021, leading to confiscation action by authorities. By early January 2024, both Farace and his father were sentenced to prison for money laundering, a severe punishment from the US government. Currently, the US government is still holding more than 207,000 BTC in evidence seized from crime suppression activities, worth nearly 9 billion USD. In March 2023, Chinese officials sold 9,800 BTC, earning 261 million USD. This shows the US government's fierceness in handling illegal activities related to cryptocurrencies. In its statement, the US pledged to conduct many more Bitcoin liquidations in 2023. However, to date, this has not happened. This has created concerns in the cryptocurrency community in 2024, as the liquidation of large amounts of Bitcoin could affect the market and value of this cryptocurrency. In addition, other individuals and organizations such as Grayscale, FTX, Mt. Gox and Celsius are also attracting interest from the cryptocurrency community. Activities and decisions on the part of these organizations will also significantly affect the cryptocurrency market in the near future. In short, the liquidation of $117 million in Bitcoin confiscated from Silk Road is part of the US government's efforts to fight illegal activities related to cryptocurrencies. However, this also creates a lot of concern and instability in the cryptocurrency community. We need to carefully monitor and evaluate the next developments in the cryptocurrency market to make wise and effective investment decisions.
