The United States have filed a lawsuit to seek the forfeiture $2.4 million worth of Bitcoins seized in Dallas by the FBI.
A civil complaint lodged in the Northern District of Texas Thursday seeks the forfeiture of 20.2 Bitcoins.BTC( ) taken from an address that was allegedly linked to a member the Chaos hacker collective, which is tied to ransomware attacksTexas US Attorney’s Office said A statement was released on Monday.
According to the complaint filed by the Dallas FBI, the seizure was made on April 15, this year. The claim is that it was proceeds from a terrorist organization. “unlawful activity” Ransomware is a type of ransomware.
The Bitcoins could be added to the US Bitcoin Reserve, as US President Donald Trump has stated. mandated in his March 6 executive orderTokens confiscated through civil or criminal asset forfeiture would be used to create the tokens.
Bitcoins held by the US Government are questioned
The US government is estimated to spend approximately $600 billion annually holds 198,012 BTC of Bitcoin by Nansen, Arkham and BitcoinTreasuries.NET, seized through various seizures over the years; however, a freedom of information request from an independent journalist recently called that into question.
Journalist L0laL33tz who uses the username L0laL33tz on X said On July 16, they received from the Department of Justice a response to a Freedom of Information request that was made in March. The Department of Justice revealed that the United States Marshals Service only had a small amount of money. more than 28,988 Bitcoin.
In a later post, L0la L33tz clarified that the number shared does not include seizure agencies like the DEA and FBI. “meaning that there may be other custody offices than the USMS.”
Arkham, a blockchain analytics company, made similar claims in a July 23 press release. pointing It is important to note that “other departments of the US Government also seize and hold Bitcoin, including the FBI, DOJ, DEA, and US Attorney’s Offices.”
Arkham says US Government hasn’t bought Bitcoin
Arkham claims that it has data showing the US government owns at least 198,000 Bitcoins, which are held in multiple addresses by various government agencies. None of these accounts have been used for the past four months.
L0la L33tz, however, argued Some Bitcoin trackers are not accurate “don’t seem to differentiate between seized and forfeited coins,” Because in certain cases the situation of assets is unclear.
“To the geniuses that have linked Arkham ‘s gov wallet tracker: these do not seem to be BTC that have been made the Gov’s property – at least not exclusively – which means they can’t sell them,” L0la L33tz said.
Related: Coinbase claims ‘key role’ in Secret Service’s biggest-ever crypto seizure
The US is following suit
Bitcoin is also a strategic reserve in 30 US states. according Bitcoin Laws Only Arizona, Texas, New Hampshire and Texas have laws relating to bitcoin as of July 29, 2017.
Dozens of bills have been rejected by legislators before they even made it through the committee stage.
Magazine: Coinbase hack shows the law probably won’t protect you: Here’s why
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Source: cointelegraph.com
