In March 2023, over 50,000 Bitcoin (BTC) value $1 billion have been moved from a number of wallets related to US legislation enforcement seizures. The transfers included three transactions, with the bulk being inner transfers. Nevertheless, about 9,861 BTC was despatched to Coinbase, with the remaining BTC consolidated into two pockets addresses.
The BTC was seized by US businesses from the Silk Highway market in November 2021. The Silk Highway was a web-based black market and one of many first darknet markets to just accept Bitcoin funds, serving to to popularize crypto use. {The marketplace} was launched in 2011 by its American founder, Ross Ulbricht, below the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts.” U.S. legislation enforcement businesses confiscated a number of gadgets from Ulbricht, together with hoards of BTC, which have been auctioned infrequently.
In 2014, standard Bitcoin proponent Tim Draper purchased practically 30,000 BTC in one among these auctions. One other public sale for 50,000 BTC was held in October 2015, the place the US Marshals Service auctioned 21 blocks of two,000 BTC and one block of two,341 in a web-based public sale.
Whereas solely a small portion of the 50,000 BTC was despatched to Coinbase, the motion of billions value of BTC from US enforcement agency-linked wallets evoked wild reactions and even wilder theories from Twitter customers. Some identified that if US businesses determined to promote their Silk Highway Bitcoin, it will put vital promoting stress in the marketplace. On the identical time, a couple of others questioned the timing of the sale.
The motion of such a lot of Bitcoin highlights the rising adoption and utilization of cryptocurrencies within the monetary trade, in addition to the potential for misuse and felony exercise. Regardless of this, the underlying know-how of cryptocurrencies, blockchain, provides a clear and safe method to monitor transactions and forestall fraud.
