More than 9,000 Bitcoin seized in connection with Silk Road on the move More than 9,000 Bitcoin seized in connection with Silk Road on the move
One of the Bitcoin transaction was pending as of press time, according to on-chain data.
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Updated: Jul. 12, 2023 at 5:08 pm UTC
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Onchain data shows 9,825 Bitcoin (BTC), worth $302 million, seized by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection to shuttered darknet marketplace, Silk Road, were moved to new addresses earlier today, July 12.
The OKLink dashboard shows that the BTC was sent to new addresses in two transactions, with one still pending as of press time.
Earlier this year, the U.S. government sold 9,800 BTC for $215.7 million via Coinbase crypto exchange. At the time, the authorities revealed plans to sell to liquidate the over 40,000 Bitcoin balance in four batches during this calendar year.
The Silk Road Bitcoin refers to the more than 50,000 BTC the U.S. government seized from James Zhong in 2022. Zhong hacked the dark web marketplace in 2012 to steal funds, and it took almost a decade before the government could recover the stolen funds.
BTC price unchanged
BTC’s price remains unchanged despite speculations generated by the U.S. BTC movement. The flagship digital asset was trading for $30,713, gaining 0.18% in the last 24 hours.
Over the past month, BTC’s price has mostly traded above $30,000 as bullish sentiments returned to the market after several leading traditional financial institutions, including BlackRock and Fidelity, applied for a spot BTC ETF in June.
During this period, several market observers, including Gemini’s co-founder Cameron Winklevoss stated that BTC’s significant accumulation had begun.
Data from ByteTree, as shared by crypto analyst Miles Deutscher, further showed that the amount of Bitcoin held by funds rapidly grew to nearly 850,000 BTC in June.
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Oluwapelumi Adejumo
Oluwapelumi values Bitcoin's potential. He imparts insights on a range of topics like DeFi, hacks, mining and culture, underlining transformative power.
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Jacob Oliver
Jacob Oliver is a recovering academic and English teacher turned crypto journalist and web3 writer. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.
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Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Gemini
Gemini is a regulated digital asset exchange and custodian that allows customers to buy, sell, store, and stake digital assets in a regulated, secure, and compliant manner.
Cameron Winklevoss, a renowned figure in the cryptocurrency sector, is a Harvard University graduate with a degree in Economics and holds an MBA from Oxford University.