The crypto assets confiscated, which were associated with James Zhong convicted in 2022 for wire fraud connected to the Silk Road marketplace, have recently been transferred to a new wallet by United States authorities, totaling roughly $2 billion in Bitcoin.

Data retrieved from the blockchain on April 2 reveals that a wallet linked to the U.S. Justice Department initiated a 0.001 BTC transaction to a Coinbase Prime address, potentially as a trial run. Subsequently, the same wallet executed a transfer of 30,174 BTC, amounting to approximately $2 billion at the time of reporting, to a different address. Online investigators identified this particular wallet as the one containing Bitcoin seized from James Zhong, who had unlawfully obtained crypto assets from Silk Road.

Zhong's involvement with Silk Road dates back to 2012 when he misappropriated over 50,000 BTC from the illicit marketplace. In 2021, U.S. authorities conducted a raid on his premises, uncovering hard wallets containing Bitcoin, including one concealed within a single-board computer stowed under blankets inside a popcorn tin. Most of the seized cryptocurrency was routed to the same address that was involved in the recent transfer of over 30,000 BTC on April 2.

By March 2023, government authorities had reported the sale of approximately 9,861 BTC seized from Zhong for a sum exceeding $215 million, leaving approximately 40,000 BTC unliquidated. The transaction on April 2 coincided with a notable dip in the price of Bitcoin, plummeting by more than 7% to $65,475 at the time of the transaction.

The Silk Road marketplace, which has remained defunct for over a decade, facilitated the illicit trade of various prohibited items, including weapons, narcotics, and stolen credit card details. Its creator, Ross Ulbricht, was apprehended by U.S. authorities in 2013 and is currently serving two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.