A federal judge has given the Department of Justice the green light to sell off thousands of Bitcoins tied to the government's shutdown of the Silk Road online black market. A Nevada-based venture capital firm, Battle Born Investments, attempted to block the sale as it sought to learn the identity of "Individual X."
According to the government, Individual X hacked the Silk Road and stole the Bitcoins in question. The 69,370 Bitcoins have a street value of more than $6.3 billion. A single Bitcoin trades for $91,832 as of this writing.
The timing of the decision is worth noting. Donald Trump, who said at a Bitcoin conference last year that the government would hold on to 100 percent of the Bitcoins in its possession if he were to be elected, is set to take office on January 20. It is unclear if Trump will attempt to block the liquidation.
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