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Feds Moving Quickly To Cash in on Seized Bitcoin, Now Worth $8.4 Million (arstechnica.com)
A federal judge in Utah has agreed to let the US government sell off a seized cache of over 513 bitcoins (BTC) and 512 Bitcoin Cash (BCH). At current prices, that would yield approximately $8.4 million for the bitcoins and nearly $1 million for the BCH. From a report: In a court filing, prosecutors noted that due to the volatility of the Bitcoin market, both coins risk losing value. Both the BTC and the BCH have already been transferred to government-controlled wallets. The new round of seized digital currency belonged to a Utah man named Aaron Shamo, whom prosecutors say led a multimillion-dollar ring of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, including oxycodone and alprazolam that were sold on Dark Web marketplaces. Shamo was arrested over a year ago -- his trial has not yet been scheduled. On Tuesday, US District Judge Dale Kimball allowed the sale to proceed. Once sold, the money would go to an account held at the Treasury Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture.
They're going to sell off seized assets before the trial has even been scheduled? What if the value goes up and he's acquitted? Will taxpayers be on the hook for the difference when he goes to collect his property?
It makes sense that they'd try to convert this particular seized asset to cash ASAP. It's not mansions, paintings and a fleet of luxury cars...it's a highly volatile cryptocurrency. Turn it into cash, hold onto it until the trial and appeals are over, and you still have an asset worth something. If they wait and the bubble pops, they get nothing or a fraction of what they would get had they sold.