US Government now a BTC holder with $1B Silk Road seizure

The Department of Justice confirmed its latest seizure in a criminal case linked to the Silk Road marketplace. The statement disclosed that $1 billion in Bitcoin (69,370 Bitcoin), was seized from an anonymous account, called “Individual X,” by the government. According to blockchain analytics firms, the address was linked to a Silk Road account. the notorious darknet market. Section 981(a)(1)(C) of the United States Code enabled the government to capture properties that are identifiable to an offense deemed to be "specified unlawful activity." This case makes the US government a whale in the Bitcoin market and the asset will be sold at federal auction under the custody of authorities.

Why it matters: The US government has long been rumored to be holding the keys to the Silk Road stash, and now it is official. While the US government says it will sell the Bitcoin it just seized at auction, this may or may not be the case. The US government has a long history of tolerating market manipulation in the alternative assets space, and with more than $1 billion in BTC, it no longer needs to use the futures market to game the Bitcoin price. Given the recent price action of Bitcoin, and the rush by Wall St. to buy the token, keep an eye out for raids on the Bitcoin price. Of course, the Bitcoin Washington DC is now holding isn't enough to affect the price on a long-term basis.

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