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U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road

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Re: U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road

#201

Post by goldenchrome »

tobyjsullivan wrote: post #159
LiquidSky wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We can charge you with these crimes or you can give up the wallet. Ah, you don't want to go jail? Thank you for your cooperation."

What I find most interesting is that anybody else in America that had $1B to their name - dirty or otherwise - would have almost zero probability of going to prison in the short-to-medium-term, and would therefore never actually hand over the cash. Very, very good lawyers are quite affordable at that point. It's hard to imagine someone with $1B in drug money, for example, just handing it over to the feds. A very quic…

Pretty much anyone who has $1B has a vast amount of institutional power too. They own the means of production, or they have deep connections in business and government. Those are the things that keep you out of jail.

Having a BTC wallet is one of the only ways to have a billion dollars and zero institutional power, so the money is little help here. The US government is also heavily incentivized to come down hard on these sorts of people because they’re threatening the dominance of the US dollar.

Re: U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road

#202

Post by superhuzza »

gamblor956 wrote: post #169
superhuzza wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>They're called bank accounts, and you can access them In lots of countries this is not guaranteed. Most recent example is Venezuela, central authorities imposed limited withdrawals.

The same is true of cryptocurrency. Try accessing it without power and internet.

Fair point!

Re: U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road

#203

Post by doggosphere »

gamblor956 wrote: post #170
doggosphere wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Access is not the same as ownership. Your account can be frozen and confiscated with little recourse.

Your account can be frozen and confiscated, but you have legal recourse. There are several anti-forfeiture legal groups that will take these cases on for free as a matter of principle (and because they generally get court-ordered legal fees from the prosecuting agency if they defeat the forfeiture).

Oh, you're assuming the legal system is the same everywhere in the world as the US.

Let assume the person is in China. Or Venezuela.

Re: U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road

#204

Post by Traster »

shiftpgdn wrote: post #185
klodolph wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can "ask" you for your Bitcoin, but the question is phrased, "Would you rather give us your Bitcoin now, or would you rather spend some time in jail first and give us the Bitcoin later?" It generally requires a court order to get money out of your bank. If it's a Bitcoin wallet, then they can just send the court order to you directly, and put you in jail until you comply (i.e. as many years as it takes). The dif…

I thought there was a constitutional ruling that you can not be compelled to remember passwords. Couldn't you just say "I forgot the key?"

You could say it, but that doesn't make it compelling testimomy.

Re: U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road

#205

Post by driverdan »

dzhiurgis wrote: post #174

Why would anyone hold such large sum in large wallet and wouldn't rotate it. Seems careless.

There's no value in rotating them. Wallet keys are essentially random. Keeping it in one wallet doesn't increase the chance of the key being discovered.

Re: U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road

#206

Post by conanbatt »

jonas21 wrote: post #60
gruez wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point of bitcoin is that you can drive across the country "carrying" $1B worth of assets, and if you get pulled over by the cops it won't be found. Try doing that with gold bars or stacks of cash.

I am glad we finally have a solution to this pressing issue.

LAW ENFORCEMENT NOW SEIZES MORE PROPERTY FROM CITIZENS THAN BURGLARS: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/law-enforcement-now-seizes-mo....

Re: U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road

#207

Post by jjones2 »

gamblor956 wrote: post #101
gruez wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point of bitcoin is that you can drive across the country "carrying" $1B worth of assets, and if you get pulled over by the cops it won't be found. Try doing that with gold bars or stacks of cash.

Plenty of rich people drive or fly across the country all the time "carrying" $1b worth of assets. They're called bank accounts, and you can access them with these things called "check books" and "debit cards" that you can use in infinitely more places than you can transact Bitcoin or other crypto.

That's not the use case here. The process you are describing leaves us vulnerable to the government and state actors who can access your bank accounts, see the records, and steal your money. We have absolutely no reason to allow government in to our finances, so we must do things like this.

With crypto, the only way the govt is doing that is if they coerce you. Try that with a "bank account".

Re: U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road

#208

Post by jjones2 »

gamblor956 wrote: post #169
superhuzza wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>They're called bank accounts, and you can access them In lots of countries this is not guaranteed. Most recent example is Venezuela, central authorities imposed limited withdrawals.

The same is true of cryptocurrency. Try accessing it without power and internet.

You can obtain you Bitcoin with a portable power generator and satellite dish if you are on the move or cannot access conventional utilities.

Re: U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road

#209

Post by colinmhayes »

tobyjsullivan wrote: post #159
LiquidSky wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"We can charge you with these crimes or you can give up the wallet. Ah, you don't want to go jail? Thank you for your cooperation."

What I find most interesting is that anybody else in America that had $1B to their name - dirty or otherwise - would have almost zero probability of going to prison in the short-to-medium-term, and would therefore never actually hand over the cash. Very, very good lawyers are quite affordable at that point. It's hard to imagine someone with $1B in drug money, for example, just handing it over to the feds. A very quic…

The wallet was completely illiquid. No market would accept coins that were linked to it. You could exchange small amounts(like thousands of dollars at most probably) with in person transactions but then the government would know where you were when they track down the person you sold to. And they really want those billion dollars. Plus there's a non zero chance that the person on the other side of the in person transaction is law enforcement.

Re: U.S. Feds Seized Nearly $1B in Bitcoin from Wallet Linked to Silk Road

#210

Post by fakedang »

robotresearcher wrote: post #87
jonas21 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am glad we finally have a solution to this pressing issue.

There are many places around the world where the government is not the good guys.

Including the US of A
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