An estimated $2 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) that had previously been confiscated by authorities in the United States and linked to the Silk Road marketplace has been transferred to a new address.
According to data from the blockchain on April 2, a wallet that is known to be associated with the U.S. Justice Department conducted a 0.001 Bitcoin transaction to a Coinbase Prime address, possibly as a test transaction. Shortly after, the same wallet moved 30,174 BTC, equivalent to approximately $2 billion at the time of this report, to a different address. Online investigators identified the wallet as the one containing Bitcoin seized from James Zhong, who was convicted in 2022 for charges related to illegally acquired cryptocurrency from Silk Road.
In 2012, Zhong stole over 50,000 BTC from Silk Road. In 2021, U.S. authorities raided his property and found hard wallets containing Bitcoin, including one that was concealed in a popcorn tin under blankets. The majority of the confiscated cryptocurrency was sent to the same address that transferred over 30,000 BTC on April 2.
This is an ongoing story, and additional details will be provided as they become available.
DOJ relocates $2B worth of Bitcoin from Silk Road to a new wallet