Bitcoin Price Predicted to Rise, Analysts Anticipate Bullish Surge

Previously it was reported that Bitcoin (BTC) worth around USD 2 billion or the equivalent of IDR 31.8 trillion (assuming an exchange rate of IDR 15,947 per US dollar) confiscated by US authorities, in connection with the Silk Road market case, had been moved to a new wallet address.

Reporting from Coinmarketcap, Tuesday (9/4/2024), Blockchain data from April 2 revealed a wallet linked to the US Department of Justice made a test transaction of 0.001 BTC to a Coinbase Prime address.

Next, the same wallet transferred 30,174 BTC, equivalent to about USD 2 billion at the time, to a different address.

Online investigators identified this wallet as one containing Bitcoin confiscated from James Zhong, who was convicted in 2022 for his role in the Silk Road case.

In 2012, Zhong stole more than 50,000 BTC from the Silk Road platform. In 2021, US authorities raided his property and found a hard wallet containing Bitcoin. The majority of the seized cryptocurrency was sent to the same address that initiated the transfer of more than 30,000 BTC on April 2.

Silk Road was a marketplace that facilitated the trade of illicit goods such as weapons, drugs, and stolen credit card information. Ross Ulbricht, creator of Silk Road, was arrested by US authorities in 2013 and is currently serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

In March 2023, US government authorities reported the sale of approximately 9,861 BTC confiscated from Zhong worth more than USD 215 million, leaving approximately 40,000 BTC remaining. News of the transaction sent BTC down 3.74% over the last 24 hours, as a potential BTC sell-off would add to selling pressure in the market.