US Government Silk Road Bitcoin Holdings Drop To 0 Amid Report DOJ Approved To Sell $6.5 Billion Worth Of Crypto

The U.S. government has received approval to liquidate a significant portion of its Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) holdings seized from the infamous darknet website Silk Road, according to a Wednesday report.

What Happened:  The Justice Department was cleared to sell 69,370 Bitcoins, valued at approximately $6.5 billion, by a federal judge, DB News reported, citing officials.

The report mentioned the DOJ citing the price volatility as a reason for pushing for permission to sell the assets.

The DOJ did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for confirmation.

See Also: Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Offloads Nearly A Million In Memecoins To Benefit Charities — Dogecoin’s Sister Coin NEIRO Plunges 3% After Sale

This decision to liquidate contrasts the views expressed by President-elect Donald Trump, who has voiced his support for cryptocurrencies and opposed the idea of the government selling its Bitcoin holdings.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $94,337.75, down 2.35% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. 

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