The US Court of Appeals officially authorized the seizure of 69,370 bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies related to the now-defunct dark web market Silk Road on Wednesday. The ruling, originally made in August, was officially announced this week.
The US Department of Justice has been seeking the formal forfeiture of these cryptocurrencies since 2020, when they were valued at around $1 billion, and have now appreciated by over three times.
After the US government seizes these cryptocurrencies, speculation about the future disposal of these assets may arise in the market. If the government chooses to sell these bitcoins, it could lead to short-term price fluctuations in the market.