Court Approves Forfeiture of Over 69K BTC Seized from Silk Road

The United States Appeal Court approved a mandate that formalizes the forfeiture of about 69,000 Bitcoin (BTC) and other crypto assets linked to the Silk Road, a defender dark web marketplace. Precisely, the  U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that the flagship cryptocurrency be transferred to federal control. 

Apart from BTC, the confiscated assets include Bitcoin gold (BTG), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). According to the filing, Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht was listed as a defendant. There were also two claimants, with the U.S. government as a plaintiff.

U.S. Government Claims Confiscated Crypto Assets 

Notably, the latest action follows an initial ruling where the U.S. government claimed these assets. In 2020, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) began to seek the forfeiture of the seized assets which were valued at over $1 billion at the time. 

Like many other confiscated crypto assets, the government has been responsible for the crypto ever since the assets were returned by the so-called “Individual X” who hacked the Silk Road protocol and gained control of its funds. The judgment on the forfeiture of the Silk Road assets was first made in August but it is finally taking effect following the recent mandate from the court. 

Silk Road Hacker Receives Jail Term

Meanwhile, the perpetrator of Silk Road’s heist is a 32-year-old man named James Zhong. He was sentenced to one year in prison in April after he pleaded guilty to the wire fraud scheme which led to the loss of 50,676 BTC from Silk Road. Most of the stolen assets were discovered in some devices found in his Gainesville home which was thoroughly searched by U.S. authorities. 

Silk Road Creator Serves 10 Years in Prison

On the other hand, Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht has successfully served up to 10 years in prison. When he talked about the commencement of the tenth year, he seemed apologetic about the devastating event. 

“Tomorrow I’ll begin my 10th year in prison. I don’t know what to say. I screwed up. I ruined my life and caused a lot of pain. When I look back and see my many mistakes, I feel immense regret,” per Ulbricht’s post on the X app on September 30, 2022.