Have there been any significant government seizures of BTC?

[Jace]

Apparently some people didn't have a backup of their wallets.

OK, but then the problem is not the seizure of bitcoins, but just plain stupidity.

Not backing up your bitcoins (on multiple places, also outside your house/office) is an accident waiting to happen. Crashing harddisks, laptops getting stolen, dogs chewing on USB drives, you know.

[1715522867]

1715522867

[mkbit88]

My original curiosity was more how would a gov react to owning a large sum of BTC, not really how they would acquire it. Yes, if you are smart no one can take BTC from you, but barring a life of financial ruin and being on the run from courts and tax agencies, one can be compelled to give up BTC just like any other asset. Apologies if I was not clear enough.

Lets try to keep this on topic to a gov holding BTC and what they ultimately did with it. (or speculation on what would happen).

[Kluge]

KnightMB's private keys were seized. 374000BTC were in those keys.

Well, that'd be new and fascinating information on the case. Have a source?

[DobZombie]

KnightMB's private keys were seized. 374000BTC were in those keys.

Well, that'd be new and fascinating information on the case. Have a source?

What did KnightMB do? Why was his BTC seized?

[Kluge]

KnightMB's private keys were seized. 374000BTC were in those keys.

Well, that'd be new and fascinating information on the case. Have a source?

What did KnightMB do? Why was his BTC seized?

He allegedly demanded a $1m ransom in BTC from Mitt Romney in exchange for not releasing his tax returns.

After raiding his house and handcuffing him and his wife, they determined he didn't have the tax returns. Authorities' smoking gun in the case are images of cats recovered on a USB drive, which they claim match a nearby woman's cats whose computer he worked on. The SS previously raided his house, which makes him extra-suspicious...

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=6825.msg2583493#msg2583493