The U.S. Court of Appeals has officially concluded seizing approximately 69,370 bitcoins and various other cryptocurrencies linked to the infamous Silk Road dark web market.
The mandate comes more than three years after the confiscation of these digital assets from an individual identified as “Individual X,” an alleged hacker.
The Silk Road was an online marketplace operating on the “Dark Web” or “Darknet,” facilitating the buying and selling of illegal goods and services, including drugs, primarily using cryptocurrency like Bitcoin.
Founded in 2011, the Silk Road was created by Ross Ulbricht, who operated under the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts.” The site’s anonymity and use of cryptocurrency made it a hub for illegal transactions, leading to its eventual shutdown by law enforcement in 2013 and the arrest of Ulbricht.
The Silk Road played a pivotal role in demonstrating the potential use of decentralised digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, for illicit activities, and its impact on the broader public perception of cryptocurrencies has been a subject of debate.
The Silk Road’s notoriety as a platform for illegal transactions is associated with its early adoption utilisation of Bitcoin, demonstrating the potential for decentralised digital currencies to facilitate trade.
Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, has since become a controversial figure, and his recent involvement in non-fungible token (NFT) sales has reignited discussions about his impact on the cryptocurrency space.
The completed forfeiture encompasses various cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, bitcoin gold, bitcoin SV, and bitcoin cash. These digital assets were initially linked to activities on the Silk Road marketplace, which the U.S. authorities shut down in 2013.
The U.S. government assumed control of these cryptocurrencies via the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of California on November 3, 2020.
During that period, the government appraised the crypto’s value at over $1 billion, with Bitcoin trading at around $13,742, as per Coingecko. Presently, Bitcoin is valued at approximately $42,440 in recent trading.
