• The US government sold 9,861.1707894 Bitcoin for $215,738,154.98 in March of 2023.
• The proceeds of the sale were $215,522,416.83 after transaction fees and there are still 41,490.72 bitcoin left to be sold in four batches this year.
• Ross Ulbricht was convicted in 2015 and sentenced to life in prison for founding the Silk Road darknet marketplace; he now seeks clemency as a double life sentence without parole is seen as an example by the government of those who build platforms outside their jurisdiction.
US Government Selling Bitcoin Previously Seized from Silk Road
The United States government has been selling bitcoin that was confiscated from the Silk Road case back in 2013. According to a court filing on March 14th of 2023, 9,861.1707894 Bitcoin were sold for a total of $215,738,154.98 after transaction fees had been taken out resulting in net proceeds for the government being $215,522,416.83 There are still around 41,490.72 Bitcoins left to be sold which they plan to sell over four batches throughout this year using open market sales instead of auctioning them off like before.
Background Information on The Silk Road
The Silk Road was a darknet marketplace that was used as a way to sell drugs amongst other services through it’s online platform. Ross Ulbricht who founded the Silk Road was convicted in 2015 and sentenced to life in prison due to his involvement with it’s operations which has led him to seek clemency as many see this double life sentence without parole as an example made by the government towards those attempting to build platforms outside their jurisdiction.
Bitcoin Price Action
The price action surrounding Bitcoin has been exciting since falling from all-time highs of $69000 down to local lows below $16000 but while The US Government has been selling some bitcoins other institutions such as MicroStrategy have also been acquiring it too leading up until today’s current high prices at almost $63000 per coin at time of writing .
Ross Ulbricht Art Gallery
Bitcoin Magazine recently opened up an art gallery located in Nashville Tennessee which currently houses a lifesize jail cell with art pieces created by Ross Ulbricht during his time spent incarcerated alongside writings also written by him too aiming at raising awareness towards seeking clemency for his charges given how they appear non-violent yet still being subjected to such extreme punishment .
Conclusion
In conclusion , we can see that despite the US Government having previously seized large amounts of Bitcoin from The Silk Road back when it was shut down , they have now begun selling parts off over several batches with more planned throughout 2021 meanwhile other institutions have begun buying up these coins for themselves . We can also see evidence that public sentiment towards Ross Ulbricht ‘s case is heavily negative due largely because of how disproportionate his sentence appears when compared against other crimes committed elsewhere .