Finders keepers? US selling 69K seized bitcoins could mess with Trump plans for crypto reserve US could get about $6.4 billion from the sale at bitcoin's current price. Ashley Belanger Jan 9, 2025 5:44 pm | 33 Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor | NurPhoto Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreAt the end of 2024, a US court authorized the Department of Justice to sell 69,370 bitcoins from "the largest cryptocurrency seizure in history."At bitcoin's current price, just under $92,000, these bitcoins are worth nearly $6.4 billion, and crypto outlets are reporting that DOJ officials have said they're planning to proceed with selling off the assets consistent with the court's order. The DOJ had reportedly argued that bitcoin's price volatility was a pressing reason to push for permission for the sale.Ars has reached out to the DOJ for comment and will update the story with any new information regarding next steps.A hacker initially stole these bitcoins from Silk Roadan illegal online marketplace where goods could only be bought and sold with bitcoinsin 2012, shortly before the US government shut down the marketplace. The US later discovered the stolen bitcoins in 2020 while conducting further investigations of Silk Road, eventually securing a consent agreement that year from the hacker, who signed the bitcoins over to the government.Whether the government's seizure of those bitcoins was proper has been disputed by Battle Born Investments, a company that purchased the assets of bankruptcy estate from an individual who they believed to be either the hacker whose bitcoins were seized or someone "associated with him."After a court battle failed to return the bitcoins, Battle Born attempted to unmask the hacker through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which sparked a new court fight. But ultimately, in late December, the court agreed with the US government that the hacker had a right to privacy as someone who was the subject of a criminal investigation and shouldn't be unmasked. That ended Battle Born's claim to the bitcoins and cleared the way for the government's sale.Soon after the news dropped, bitcoin's price fell, which some outlets linked to speculation about the DOJ's sale and others to announced shifts in the Federal Reserve's monetary policy strategy and new Treasury Department data sparking inflation concerns.If the sale is set in motion, it could affect the price of bitcoin. But perhaps more importantly, it could mess with Donald Trump's plans to establish a US bitcoin reserve.In December, while the DOJ pushed for permission to sell the bitcoins, Trump confirmed a bitcoin reserve was needed, urging, "We're gonna do something great with crypto because we dont want China, or anybody else but others are embracing it, and we want to be ahead," Forbes reported.Starting in July, Trump campaigned on being a "pro-crypto president," promising to loosen regulations and suggesting that cryptocurrency could be used to wipe out the US national debt.Axios noted that Trump plans to build the US bitcoin reserve from cryptocurrencies seized in criminal investigations, so it wouldn't make sense to sell off the largest haul ever if he intends to take the US in that direction.Analysts told Forbes that there's an estimated 60 percent chance that Trump will implement a bitcoin treasury reserve this year. And if that happens, bitcoin's price could jump significantlyperhaps as high as "$225,000 per coin by the end of 2025," they estimated. That forecast likely makes a sale even less appealing to pro-crypto regulators, who may see more value in stockpiling than selling.Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 33 Comments