The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case related to the ownership of 69,370 seized Bitcoins from the dark web marketplace Silk Road. This decision paves the way for the American government to potentially sell the $4.38 billion worth of BTC. Battle Born Investments, a company claiming ownership of the Bitcoins, lost a federal court ruling in 2022 after arguing that the seized Bitcoin belonged to them through a bankruptcy estate. However, the court was unconvinced that the debtor, Raymond Ngan, was the mysterious “Individual X” who had stolen the Bitcoins, leading to the ruling being upheld by a federal appeals court in San Francisco.
With the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear Battle Born’s case, the government is now likely able to proceed with selling the seized Bitcoins. This development signifies the end of the legal battle, clearing the way for the government to handle the funds as it sees fit. Over the past months, the U.S. government has been actively managing large amounts of seized Bitcoin from Silk Road, with major transactions taking place in July and August.
