Silk Road Funds Seized, Amounting to About 69,000 Bitcoins

The US Department of Justice has confiscated thousands of bitcoins associated with the now defunct Silk Road network, whose assets are estimated at more than $1 bln. According to the statement, investigators used software tools to identify 54 previously undetected bitcoin transactions. The report also says Chainalysis assisted in the investigation.

The court document says that the government knows a person under the pseudonym Individual X, who was able to steal $1 bln of bitcoins by hacking the marketplace. On November 3, 2020, Individual X signed an agreement with the US Attorney's Office in the Northern District of California for forfeiture.

This news came a few days after 69,369 bitcoins were moved from the wallet address – the first such movement since 2015, which caused quite a stir in the crypto community. In addition to bitcoins, officials have also confiscated assets in Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, and Bitcoin SV. US Attorney David ANDERSON said in a statement that the successful prosecution of the Silk Road founder in 2015 left a billion-dollar question open. The confiscation has now answered that question.

Image by Fordham Law News