600,000 coins gone!! DPR's personal wallet un crackable!

[bitfreak!]

What are you saying? It's actually possible to have more than one copy of a digital file??

You don't even need a copy of the wallet file, just a hand-written private key will do...
Maybe he just has a flyer for a concert lying around in his bedroom, with a QR code actually containing the private key.

He might even know it by heart, I know I would if I had an address with 600k BTC.

Isn't it even possible to generate a deterministic wallet with a seed phrase in some applications? He may be able to restore his wallet by simply recalling a short phrase.

[cypherdoc]

This will be very interesting to watch. Does DPR hold the keys to 600k XBT? Probably not, but nobody knows for sure.

He could use it as a bargaining chip w/ the feds. He's likely looking at life in prison for his crimes, and the federal prosecutor is likely eager to make an example out of his case to deter the other online black markets that are already cropping up to take SR's customers. But if he's in prison for life, why hand over the money? Instead he can use it to bargain for a lighter sentence. Unlike the existing banking system, the feds can't take the coins without his cooperation.

He could use it as prison currency. Let's say his fellow inmates believe he has 80 million in untouchable, untraceable internet currency. If he dies, the money dies with him. But he could use the promise of that money to buy protection with the promise of riches in the future. Or he could become the target of inmates who think they can beat the information out of him.

very interesting.

[cr1776]

Love this quote:

At current exchange rates, that represents slightly more than 5% of all bitcoins in circulation.

Really?  So if the exchange rate changes, it might be less or more than the total number of bitcoin in circulation?

The exchange rate has nothing to do with the percentage of the total in circulation.  The author had a bunch of other errors in there too, but what can you expect.

He could have a brain wallet and just never remember the key.  Although they do have ways to compel you - e.g. contempt in jail

This may have been posted already, but I didn't see it. If it has, feel free to delete.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/07/fbi-bitcoin-silk-road-ross-ulbricht

[Raoul Duke]

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/07/fbi-bitcoin-silk-road-ross-ulbricht

Even if the FBI is not able to transfer the money, merely having possession of the wallet file itself is enough to prevent the coins being spent.

I guess the guardian should investigate a little more about their topics before printing such false claims.

What are you saying? It's actually possible to have more than one copy of a digital file??

The guardian talks about a message when u encrypt ur wallet file. Something about "all ur backups won't work after this operation" thing.

That message is about CHANGE addresses. The unused change addresses keypool will be wiped out and a new keypool created when you encrypt your wallet.
Way to do "journalism"...

[theonewhowaskazu]

What are you saying? It's actually possible to have more than one copy of a digital file??

You don't even need a copy of the wallet file, just a hand-written private key will do...
Maybe he just has a flyer for a concert lying around in his bedroom, with a QR code actually containing the private key.

He might even know it by heart, I know I would if I had an address with 600k BTC.

Isn't it even possible to generate a deterministic wallet with a seed phrase in some applications? He may be able to restore his wallet by simply recalling a short phrase.

Exactly. Is it possible to get internet access in prison? If so, its as easy as downloading electrum, remembering "ticket hat grasshopper magazine painter nose" and transferring all your coins to a new address. Then, no amount of noobing on the part of the FBI can get at the coins.

[klondike_bar]

What are you saying? It's actually possible to have more than one copy of a digital file??

You don't even need a copy of the wallet file, just a hand-written private key will do...
Maybe he just has a flyer for a concert lying around in his bedroom, with a QR code actually containing the private key.

He might even know it by heart, I know I would if I had an address with 600k BTC.

Isn't it even possible to generate a deterministic wallet with a seed phrase in some applications? He may be able to restore his wallet by simply recalling a short phrase.

Exactly. Is it possible to get internet access in prison? If so, its as easy as downloading electrum, remembering "ticket hat grasshopper magazine painter nose" and transferring all your coins to a new address. Then, no amount of noobing on the part of the FBI can get at the coins.

ahahahahahahah  you haven't seen prison

[ErisDiscordia]

He could use it as a bargaining chip w/ the feds. He's likely looking at life in prison for his crimes, and the federal prosecutor is likely eager to make an example out of his case to deter the other online black markets that are already cropping up to take SR's customers. But if he's in prison for life, why hand over the money? Instead he can use it to bargain for a lighter sentence. Unlike the existing banking system, the feds can't take the coins without his cooperation.

He could use it as prison currency. Let's say his fellow inmates believe he has 80 million in untouchable, untraceable internet currency. If he dies, the money dies with him. But he could use the promise of that money to buy protection with the promise of riches in the future. Or he could become the target of inmates who think they can beat the information out of him.

Somebody forward this to Neal Stephenson, this should be the basic plot of his next novel 

[theonewhowaskazu]

What are you saying? It's actually possible to have more than one copy of a digital file??

You don't even need a copy of the wallet file, just a hand-written private key will do...
Maybe he just has a flyer for a concert lying around in his bedroom, with a QR code actually containing the private key.

He might even know it by heart, I know I would if I had an address with 600k BTC.

Isn't it even possible to generate a deterministic wallet with a seed phrase in some applications? He may be able to restore his wallet by simply recalling a short phrase.

Exactly. Is it possible to get internet access in prison? If so, its as easy as downloading electrum, remembering "ticket hat grasshopper magazine painter nose" and transferring all your coins to a new address. Then, no amount of noobing on the part of the FBI can get at the coins.

ahahahahahahah  you haven't seen prison

No, I actually haven't, but it doesn't seem altogether unreasonable. Presumably you meet with your lawyer sometime. Perhaps your lawyer has a laptop and a phone with tethering. Would it be illegal for him to give you access to it for a couple mintutes? I highly doubt it.

[freedomno1]

Well at the very least if the 600,000 are out of circulation for an unknown period the FBI may indirectly become a central bank repository for Bitcoins long in the future  
2.8% of all circulation
A tiny mint lol

[barbarousrelic]

From this:

Even if the FBI is not able to transfer the money, merely having possession of the wallet file itself is enough to prevent the coins being spent. The Bureau is in a position equivalent to having seized a safe belonging to a suspect with no idea of the combination – and no hope of forcing it open any other way.

How do they know he doesn't have a brain wallet or a second backup? Seems rather likely IMO.

1. They don't.

2. They will know he (or someone else) has a backup/brainwallet if the 600,000 bitcoins show being moved one day on the blockchain.

[theonewhowaskazu]

2. They will know he (or someone else) has a backup/brainwallet if the 600,000 bitcoins show being moved one day on the blockchain.

He doesn't have to do it all at the same time. Looking at blockchain.info a "normal" day on Bitcoin has about 300,000 worth of Bitcoins being moved around (http://blockchain.info/charts/estimated-transaction-volume) this is after removing "change", if he could somehow emulate "change" transactions that'd even let him cycle through his keys quicker. Spread out those BTC transactions over a week and nobody has to know.

[Elwar]

The 600k coins are not in a single address.

[repentance]

As long as he's believed to have control over those BTC, he can never be safe in prison and his family will be at risk of harm.  I'm sure the feds will point that out to him - repeatedly.

His wallet may be "uncrackable" from a technological standpoint, but that's not worth a damn unless he's willing for himself or his family to die in order to protect its contents.

[gollum]

If FBI gets access to his wallet they will probably sell all bitcoins for dollar, and if they sell all coins at once the price will crash down to 10$.
Or if they sell it over several weeks the price might just go down to 50$.

[monbux]

The 600,000BTC figure is based on the maximum possible $80m slice of sales he took, no? I would think his private stash would be a good deal lower than 600,000. Still lots for the FBI to sell if they ever get the key and recover it.

FBI to SELL?  Wow, you US people are totally corrupt...

[freedomno1]

The 600,000BTC figure is based on the maximum possible $80m slice of sales he took, no? I would think his private stash would be a good deal lower than 600,000. Still lots for the FBI to sell if they ever get the key and recover it.

FBI to SELL?  Wow, you US people are totally corrupt...

Well it is the policy of police and I guess the FBI to sell the proceeds earned from drug money to the highest bidder
Although usually it is a motorcycle or fancy car I guess bitcoins would fall under the scope
Again this assumes they have access to the memory wallet too and all of the bitcoins
Good ol Police Auctions XD
For sale 600,000 bitcoins lol.

[repentance]

Well it is the policy of police and I guess the FBI to sell the proceeds earned from drug money to the highest bidder
Although usually it is a motorcycle or fancy car I guess bitcoins would fall under the scope
Again this assumes they have access to the memory wallet too and all of the bitcoins
Good ol Police Auctions XD
For sale 600,000 bitcoins lol.

Seized cash often gets distributed amongst the agencies responsible for the seizure.  As the BTC currently held by the feds could never be spent from that account without everyone realising they were dealing with law enforcement, it makes more sense to liquidate them - even though generally keeping currency is the more logical option.

I'm curious about what sized lots the BTC will be offered in and especially curious about whether the feds will follow the trail of the BTC post-sale ('cos I'm damned sure they'll set it up so that buyers must prove their identity in some way).

[gollum]

The silkroad guy should have burried the wallet in the desert like Walt

[freedomno1]

Well it is the policy of police and I guess the FBI to sell the proceeds earned from drug money to the highest bidder
Although usually it is a motorcycle or fancy car I guess bitcoins would fall under the scope
Again this assumes they have access to the memory wallet too and all of the bitcoins
Good ol Police Auctions XD
For sale 600,000 bitcoins lol.

Seized cash often gets distributed amongst the agencies responsible for the seizure.  As the BTC currently held by the feds could never be spent from that account without everyone realising they were dealing with law enforcement, it makes more sense to liquidate them - even though generally keeping currency is the more logical option.

I'm curious about what sized lots the BTC will be offered in and especially curious about whether the feds will follow the trail of the BTC post-sale ('cos I'm damned sure they'll set it up so that buyers must prove their identity in some way).

Buy low sell high then buy non FBI bitcoins with your cash from the Post-Sale Bitcoins of course I guess it depends on how through they are with post-sale bitcoins

[Dabs]

check out the top 400 bitcoin addresses.