U.S. Government to Dispose $117M Worth of Bitcoin

Reported by The Block, the U.S. government filed a notice announcing its intention to dispose of about $117 million worth of bitcoin seized in a dark web drug bust.

In the notice dated Jan. 8, the U.S. government said it planned to dispose, "in such manner as the United States Attorney General may direct," nearly 2,875 bitcoin seized from Ryan Farace and Sean Bridges in 2021, in addition to another roughly 59 bitcion that belonged to Farace alone.

At the time of the filing, the seized bitcoin was worth about $133 million.

In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice said it was charging Farace for illegally selling Xanax on the dark web.

"The indictment alleges that Farace distributed the drugs through sales on the dark web in exchange for bitcoin," the DOJ's statement said at the time. Earlier this month, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Farace and his father Joseph Farace had both been sentenced to prison for money laundering conspiracy.