Sudden new largest bitcoin address as of 10/25

[SheHadMANHands]

Good. 170k BTC out of the market.
Up, up, up!

Right, they're just going to throw the key away..

I'm surprised another panic shit-storm hasn't struck (down to ~$160/165)

[Rygon]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/10/25/fbi-says-its-seized-20-million-in-bitcoins-from-ross-ulbricht-alleged-owner-of-silk-road/

Looks like it's the FBI's address

That article implies that the FBI might not have the private key to that address. It's very confusing. What did they seize exactly?

edit: They must have the key since the funds were moved today. IMO, this is bearish because newcomers to BTC will think that it can easily be confiscated. I'm surprised the private key(s) wasn't hidden better.

[N12]

Good. 170k BTC out of the market.
Up, up, up!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/10/04/fbi-silk-road-bitcoin-seizure/

“We will probably just liquidate them.”

Good. 170k BTC back on the market after a while.

[Raoul Duke]

Good. 170k BTC out of the market.
Up, up, up!

Right, they're just going to throw the key away..

They're not selling them on MtGox, Bitstamp, or BTC-e, either...

[Fuyuki_Wataru]

I actually did some research with another guy about who might be the top 10 richest bitcoin users.

What we found out was 4-5 different accounts being used by the same person, who owned around 40k bitcoins on each account. He didn't seem like the richest one, but he surely was.

And 2-3 accounts who held up 30K which was being used by another user.

Theres some really wealthy people out there...

[xDan]

Colour me surprised.

I'd REALLY like to know the exact details of how they got them.

Cracked his password?
Rubber hose?
Other?

It seemed to me, with probably going to jail for life, there would be little incentive to willingly give them up.

[bigasic]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/10/25/fbi-says-its-seized-20-million-in-bitcoins-from-ross-ulbricht-alleged-owner-of-silk-road/

Looks like it's the FBI's address

Now we know what's up. 144k BTC for the FBI.

All your BTC are belong to US.

IF they put all their coins up for sale right now, what would the price drop to?

[C. Bergmann]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/10/25/fbi-says-its-seized-20-million-in-bitcoins-from-ross-ulbricht-alleged-owner-of-silk-road/

Looks like it's the FBI's address

Now we know what's up. 144k BTC for the FBI.

All your BTC are belong to US.

IF they put all their coins up for sale right now, what would the price drop to?

How would they do this?

Maybe they send them to gox :=))))

[bigasic]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/10/25/fbi-says-its-seized-20-million-in-bitcoins-from-ross-ulbricht-alleged-owner-of-silk-road/

Looks like it's the FBI's address

That article implies that the FBI might not have the private key to that address. It's very confusing. What did they seize exactly?

edit: They must have the key since the funds were moved today. IMO, this is bearish because newcomers to BTC will think that it can easily be confiscated. I'm surprised the private key(s) wasn't hidden better.

You have to remember that DPR was being watched for months, I suspect from about May onwards. The FBI are very crafty. They could have very easily broken in and put a key logger on his machine that he wouldnt detect. I bet the gov has many tools that arent available to the most savvy of hackers.. So, it would make sense that they would have a ton of info..

I was watching one of those FBI real life shows the other night on how they do pretty much what I just said. They would stage a car wreck to close off the street while their agents were in the house putting bugs, etc.. so, ulbricht goose was cooked probably by late spring...

[vokain]

Good. 170k BTC out of the market.
Up, up, up!

talk about a trophy catch for the FBI though. could be billions one day

[niothor]

So , all those who said  that they will never get hit bitcoins....how long did it take , 1 month? =)))))))))))))))0

[hlynur]

This is part of Bitcoins' Magic. The crowd can look into the wallet of the rich and spekulate about it ...

To make this thing more scary, there is a coincidence with a new conspiracy theory about the silk road bust, which I thin is untrue, but gains value as a storyboard. Maybe you know, http://www.reddit.com/r/SilkroadUNcensored/comments/1p0ogt/time_to_let_the_cat_out_of_the_hat/

Its written in weird language, so I give you the details: He claims, SR was not seized, but all was a scam. In the days before the socalled seizure, there would have happened a lot of complain by users, they couldn't logg in, couldn't free their coins, etc. Theory is, the admins just run away with the money.

I don't believe this theory, but I like it, cause the storyline is 2 big 2 fail 2 make me brainrisseling ... this adress would be the top of the story

whoa... thanks for posting the link, some heavy tinfoilstuff goin' on there, esp. the theory about the gawker journalist being involved.

[C. Bergmann]

This is part of Bitcoins' Magic. The crowd can look into the wallet of the rich and spekulate about it ...

To make this thing more scary, there is a coincidence with a new conspiracy theory about the silk road bust, which I thin is untrue, but gains value as a storyboard. Maybe you know, http://www.reddit.com/r/SilkroadUNcensored/comments/1p0ogt/time_to_let_the_cat_out_of_the_hat/

Its written in weird language, so I give you the details: He claims, SR was not seized, but all was a scam. In the days before the socalled seizure, there would have happened a lot of complain by users, they couldn't logg in, couldn't free their coins, etc. Theory is, the admins just run away with the money.

I don't believe this theory, but I like it, cause the storyline is 2 big 2 fail 2 make me brainrisseling ... this adress would be the top of the story

whoa... thanks for posting the link, some heavy tinfoilstuff goin' on there, esp. the theory about the gawker journalist being involved.

yea, with the forbes-article its officialy untrue, but nice for imagination

[bigasic]

Good. 170k BTC out of the market.
Up, up, up!

talk about a trophy catch for the FBI though. could be billions one day

The second the FBI can sell the bitcoins, they will.  I just wonder if they will dump them on the market all at once or be smart and do it over a 2-3 month period.. They would get a lot more. But I dont see them holding much. THey will hold some, so they can use bitcoins in other investigations, trust me, that will happen, but they will sell the majority..

[notme]

Good. 170k BTC out of the market.
Up, up, up!

talk about a trophy catch for the FBI though. could be billions one day

The second the FBI can sell the bitcoins, they will.  I just wonder if they will dump them on the market all at once or be smart and do it over a 2-3 month period.. They would get a lot more. But I dont see them holding much. THey will hold some, so they can use bitcoins in other investigations, trust me, that will happen, but they will sell the majority..

They will sell them at auction like all property they seize.

[bigasic]

Good. 170k BTC out of the market.
Up, up, up!

talk about a trophy catch for the FBI though. could be billions one day

The second the FBI can sell the bitcoins, they will.  I just wonder if they will dump them on the market all at once or be smart and do it over a 2-3 month period.. They would get a lot more. But I dont see them holding much. THey will hold some, so they can use bitcoins in other investigations, trust me, that will happen, but they will sell the majority..

They will sell them at auction like all property they seize.

That would be interesting if they put up 40 million dollars worth of bitcoins, I doubt they will auction that off, just like they dont auction off cash... at an auction, they wont get as much as if they sold at an exchange, but this is the govt we are talking about. they always do things the most difficult and most expensive way possible...

We are at least a couple years away (if not more) from them selling them anyways, by that time, the bitcoin price will probably be a lot higher.. They cant do a thing until the case is settled...

[notme]

Good. 170k BTC out of the market.
Up, up, up!

talk about a trophy catch for the FBI though. could be billions one day

The second the FBI can sell the bitcoins, they will.  I just wonder if they will dump them on the market all at once or be smart and do it over a 2-3 month period.. They would get a lot more. But I dont see them holding much. THey will hold some, so they can use bitcoins in other investigations, trust me, that will happen, but they will sell the majority..

They will sell them at auction like all property they seize.

That would be interesting if they put up 40 million dollars worth of bitcoins, I doubt they will auction that off, just like they dont auction off cash... at an auction, they wont get as much as if they sold at an exchange, but this is the govt we are talking about. they always do things the most difficult and most expensive way possible...

We are at least a couple years away (if not more) from them selling them anyways, by that time, the bitcoin price will probably be a lot higher.. They cant do a thing until the case is settled...

Auctioning cash makes no sense.  Do you want to buy these dollars for some dollars?

Auctioning off multimillion dollar homes and boats, however, the do.

[hlynur]

Good. 170k BTC out of the market.
Up, up, up!

talk about a trophy catch for the FBI though. could be billions one day

The second the FBI can sell the bitcoins, they will.  I just wonder if they will dump them on the market all at once or be smart and do it over a 2-3 month period.. They would get a lot more. But I dont see them holding much. THey will hold some, so they can use bitcoins in other investigations, trust me, that will happen, but they will sell the majority..

could they throw the coins back into the systems of tor marketplaces to trace them to several merchant wallets, or is that senseless because of the mixing services there?

[bigasic]

Good. 170k BTC out of the market.
Up, up, up!

talk about a trophy catch for the FBI though. could be billions one day

The second the FBI can sell the bitcoins, they will.  I just wonder if they will dump them on the market all at once or be smart and do it over a 2-3 month period.. They would get a lot more. But I dont see them holding much. THey will hold some, so they can use bitcoins in other investigations, trust me, that will happen, but they will sell the majority..

They will sell them at auction like all property they seize.

That would be interesting if they put up 40 million dollars worth of bitcoins, I doubt they will auction that off, just like they dont auction off cash... at an auction, they wont get as much as if they sold at an exchange, but this is the govt we are talking about. they always do things the most difficult and most expensive way possible...

We are at least a couple years away (if not more) from them selling them anyways, by that time, the bitcoin price will probably be a lot higher.. They cant do a thing until the case is settled...

Auctioning cash makes no sense.  Do you want to buy these dollars for some dollars?

Auctioning off multimillion dollar homes and boats, however, the do.

That was my whole point.... They would probably treat bitcoin as fiat, (this is new to them, so it will be interesting to see how they sell it.. but I dont think it would be by an auction, but you never know.)

[windjc]

Well, one thing is for sure, DPR was not nearly as clever as people gave him credit for.

Someone as high profile as himself should at the very least have had multiple small wallets with security contingency protocols in case something happened to him. His lawyers could have put those contingencies into action.