- Two unconfirmed transactions show that 9,800 Bitcoins were linked to dark web marketplace Silk Road on Wednesday.
- 506 BTC was sent to a change address and 0.01 BTC was moved to wallet 361yog in the first transaction, according to reports.
- On the second transaction, the move transferred 8,200 BTC to the same 361yog wallet and 1,118 BTC to a separate exchange wallet.
- The transactions were discovered shortly after US CPI data was released, but it remains unclear whether the government is behind the BTC transfers.
Crypto addresses with Bitcoin linked to the defunct darknet marketplace Silk Road moved BTC worth about $300 million into new wallets on Wednesday, shortly after the CPI data was announced.
The BTC movements were first noticed by crypto observers during two unconfirmed transactions. In the first transaction, 506 BTC was sent to a change address and 0.01 BTC was moved to the 361yog wallet.
Wallet 361yo again received 8,200 BTC worth approximately $250 million in the second transaction. 1,118 BTC was also sent to a different address than the first.
8200 Silk Road Bitcoin spread across multiple wallets
According to blockchain insights provider MistTrack, the 8200 Silk Road Bitcoin seized by the US Department of Justice was distributed among several wallet addresses. Each of the new wallets received 79.2008, MistTrack noted. 1,118 BTC moved to a change address had not yet been moved at the time of writing.
In March, US authorities liquidated 9,800 BTC for approximately $216 million. The government also announced plans to sell 41,490 BTC in four tranches by 2023. Specifically, Coinbase is the official digital asset partner supporting the US government in selling its seized Bitcoin and virtual currencies. The crypto exchange is currently facing a lawsuit filed by the SEC for alleged rule violation.
Silk Road forfeited more than 51,000 Bitcoins to the US government after its creator Ross William Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison after his arrest in 2013. The dark web marketplace operated for more than two years and allowed users to pay with BTC for narcotics, money laundering services and other illegal operations.
