The company has lost its latest challenge in an ongoing fight against the US government
The US Supreme Court has declined to hear a case concerning the ownership of 69,370 Bitcoin, worth approximately $4.3 billion, that was seized from the dark web marketplace Silk Road. Battle Born Investments, the company that sought to claim these assets, had purchased rights to the Bitcoin through a bankruptcy estate. However, their request to have the Supreme Court review the case was rejected, following earlier legal losses in both district and appellate courts.
The decision marks the end of a legal battle that began after Silk Road’s shutdown in 2013 when the US government seized the Bitcoin linked to the infamous online marketplace. Battle Born argued that it had a valid claim to the assets, but a San Francisco appeals court ruled against it in 2022, stating that the firm had no legitimate grounds to pursue the cryptocurrency.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to take on the case means the US government is now more likely to move forward with its plans to sell Bitcoin. This process has already begun, with around $2 billion worth of the Silk Road-linked cryptocurrency being transferred in July. These funds were managed by the US Marshals Service, which uses Coinbase Prime to store and handle seized digital assets.
Large government sales of Bitcoin have been known to cause volatility in the cryptocurrency market, as seen when the German government sold nearly 50,000 Bitcoin over a few weeks in mid-2023. While the US government has not disclosed its specific plans for the seized Bitcoin, this latest court decision clears the path for it to act.
With the legal hurdle now removed, the future of these digital assets remains to be seen, especially as political figures, including Donald Trump, have voiced opinions on the handling of seized cryptocurrencies.
