In a significant development, the Supreme Court of the United States has opted not to consider a case submitted by Battle Born Investments. The case revolved around the ownership of a massive cache of 69,370 Bitcoin (valued at approximately $4.38 billion), previously seized by the US government from the notorious dark web marketplace, Silk Road.
Battle Born Investments had contended that it had obtained the rights to the confiscated Bitcoin via a bankruptcy estate. However, with the Supreme Court’s refusal to take the case on board, it appears that the way has been paved for the US government to auction off this sizeable Bitcoin stack.
Previously, Battle Born failed to convince both a district court in 2022 and an appeals court in 2023 that it had legitimately acquired the Bitcoin through a bankruptcy claim following Silk Road’s shutdown in 2013. In turn, a San Francisco appellate court judge dismissed the case, citing the firm’s lack of a valid claim to the Bitcoin stash.
Given the Supreme Court’s propensity to review only 100 to 150 out of more than 7,000 cases annually, the decision rendered is not entirely surprising. More importantly, this verdict significantly boosts the likelihood of the US government’s civil forfeiture action succeeding.
On July 29, the government had already moved about $2 billion worth of Bitcoin linked to Silk Road. These transfers were facilitated by the Marshals Service, utilizing Coinbase Prime to manage seized cryptocurrencies.
Instances of government entities offloading vast quantities of Bitcoin have previously incited considerable market volatility, such as when the German government sold nearly 50,000 Bitcoin (over $3.15 billion worth) in the span of a few weeks in June and July.
The intentions of the US government concerning these seized coins remain uncertain. However, former US Presidential candidate Donald Trump had vowed to establish a “strategic Bitcoin stockpile” if he were to win the election on Nov. 5. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has so far not publicized her stance on the matter.
Silk Road, launched in 2011 by Ross Ulbricht, was infamous for its illicit activities. Ulbricht is currently serving a life sentence for several charges including money laundering and narcotics distribution. Trump had pledged to release Ulbricht from prison if he were to win the presidency.