NewsBTC
No Result
View All Result
  • Cryptocurrency News
    • Bitcoin News (BTC)
    • Ethereum News (ETH)
    • Ripple News (XRP)
    • Shiba Inu News (SHIB)
    • Cardano News (ADA)
    • Dogecoin News (DOGE)
    • Solana News (SOL)
    • Litecoin News (LTC)
    • Avalanche News (AVAX)
    • Polygon News (MATIC)
  • Crypto Prices
    • Binance Coin (BNB) Price
    • Bitcoin (BTC) Price
    • Cardano (ADA) Price
    • Chainlink (LINK) Price
    • Dogecoin (DOGE) Price
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price
    • Litecoin (LTC) Price
    • Polkadot (DOT) Price
  • Crypto Resources & Directory
  • All Crypto
  • Play GamesTry
  • CasinosTry
Breaking News: Bitcoin Hits ATH Of $112,000, Expert Predicts Rally Is Just Beginning
  • Cryptocurrency News
    • Bitcoin News (BTC)
    • Ethereum News (ETH)
    • Ripple News (XRP)
    • Shiba Inu News (SHIB)
    • Cardano News (ADA)
    • Dogecoin News (DOGE)
    • Solana News (SOL)
    • Litecoin News (LTC)
    • Avalanche News (AVAX)
    • Polygon News (MATIC)
  • Crypto Prices
    • Binance Coin (BNB) Price
    • Bitcoin (BTC) Price
    • Cardano (ADA) Price
    • Chainlink (LINK) Price
    • Dogecoin (DOGE) Price
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price
    • Litecoin (LTC) Price
    • Polkadot (DOT) Price
  • Crypto Resources & Directory
  • All Crypto
  • Play GamesTry
  • CasinosTry
Bitcoin News
No Result
View All Result
Breaking News: Bitcoin Hits ATH Of $112,000, Expert Predicts Rally Is Just Beginning

Could US Law Enforcement Benefit from Storing Crypto Seizures?

Rick Delafont
Rick Delafont
4 years ago
3 mins read
seizures

Reason to trust

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
How Our News is Made

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality

Ad discliamer

Morbi pretium leo et nisl aliquam mollis. Quisque arcu lorem, ultricies quis pellentesque nec, ullamcorper eu odio.

As cryptocurrency usage becomes more widespread both above and below the law, various authorities are increasingly required to perform seizures on funds used in criminal cases. Thanks to the various anonymity properties of digital coins, however, it’s proving difficult to track these forfeitures. This lack of transparency leaves critics of the government musing over the possibility that not all digital currency is being sold fairly and through the correct channels. If only there was some way of publicly recording details regarding funds acquired through forfeiture and their sale…

Seizures are Rife, Reports are Less So

There is no shortage of examples of government agencies seizing digital currencies. High profile cases like that of Alexandre Cazes, the ringleader behind global dark web marketplace Alpha Bay, and Ross Ulbricht, the mastermind behind Silk Road have involved huge sums of cryptocurrency being turned over to the government.

More recently, 513 Bitcoins were seized from a seller of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in Utah, and Fortune reports a kidnapping case in which a man was bundled into what he thought was an Uber and was forced to surrender private keys at gunpoint. Those behind the incident were able to make off with $1.8 million in ETH tokens. They promptly converted these to BTC which then soared in price. What remains unclear is who should receive all that extra cash.

There are many more examples of forfeiture involving digital currency making the total amount of seized funds incredibly difficult to work out. This is exacerbated by anonymity properties of digital coins, along with the penchant for secrecy within some of the agencies making the seizures.

A website, Forfeiture.gov, exists that documents cases of forfeiture in the States. However, their records are fleeting. They’re regularly updated and old cases are removed with the addition of new ones. In addition, there are often long periods between the seizure of assets and their appearance in any records and some sales of cryptocurrency aren’t reported at all.

It seems somewhat ironic that the very technology behind digital currency, the blockchain, could provide the transparency needed in such matters. An attorney who has worked extensively on cases of forfeiture, Alex Lakatos, feels that some form of central registry would be beneficial:

“This country is weirdly lacking in central registries… we don’t know how much property has been seized.”

Since there is no law obliging the government to provide such a ledger, one has yet to be created. It’s argued that increased transparency would likely tip criminals off to the methods used by law enforcement and thus undermine operations.

However, there are plenty who feel that this lack of transparency is completely unacceptable and promotes underhand behaviour from those working in government agencies. Clifford Histed, an attorney at K&L Gates spoke to Fortune of the historical precedent for embezzlement in cases of forfeiture:

“I’ve spent 23 years in law enforcement and, unfortunately, I believe as long as police have been seizing cash, some have been skimming it… I don’t think Bitcoin will prove any different.”

Whilst there is no hard evidence to suggest that government agents have been misappropriating funds from seizures, the ease with which it could be taking place concerns lawyers and libertarians alike. An investigation into the Marshals Service last September uncovered examples of the agency using seized funds to pay for such unnecessary luxuries as “high-end granite countertops and expensive custom artwork.” Amusingly, much of this was found at the new Asset Forfeiture Academy in Houston. Surely, with such incidents occurring and the numbers of seizures only set to grow, there should be some effort made to provide transparency to avoid allegations of corruptions.

 

 

 

Tweet123Share196ShareSend
Rick Delafont
Rick Delafont

Rick Delafont

Based in Europe, Rick has written about the cryptocurrency industry since 2016. He was first drawn to Bitcoin as a means of payment but quickly became fascinated by its wider potential implications. His interests lie in the political, economic, and social impact of the unfolding digital asset revolution.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Disclaimer: The information found on NewsBTC is for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.

Related News

Solana

Solana (SOL) Set For Price Run To $2,700 — But This Condition Must Hold

Solana (SOL) has registered a 0.58% loss in the past day, representing a slight price retracement from its strong weekly...

Semilore Faleti 9 hours ago
Bitcoin

Who Flipped The Switch? Bitcoin STHs Accumulate While LTHs Take Profit

Over the last month, Bitcoin ranged within the $100,000 — $110,000 price region until its recent breakout to reach a...

Opeyemi Sule 10 hours ago
Bitcoin price

Bitcoin Price Could Soar To $146K In The Next Leg Up — Analyst Explains How

After going on an impressive run to close the week, the Bitcoin price has become relatively steady over this weekend....

Opeyemi Sule 11 hours ago
Load More

Reason to trust

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality
Created by industry experts and meticulously reviewed
The highest standards in reporting and publishing
How Our News is Made

Strict editorial policy that focuses on accuracy, relevance, and impartiality

Ad discliamer

Morbi pretium leo et nisl aliquam mollis. Quisque arcu lorem, ultricies quis pellentesque nec, ullamcorper eu odio.

Related News

Bitcoin

Bitcoin Stalls After Rally: Will It Blast Through $125,000 Or Slip Back To $110K?

Scott Matherson 1 hour ago
Bitcoin

Kiyosaki Awaits The Next Bitcoin Sale: ‘My Fellow Pigs And I Are Feasting’

Christian Encila 3 hours ago
Ethereum

Ethereum Breaks Critical $2,800 Level — Can Bulls Hold For Major Rally?

Semilore Faleti 6 hours ago

Premium Sponsors

Press Releases

  • アルトコイン急騰の今買うべき仮想通貨プレセール

    ...

    4 hours ago
  • 仮想通貨おすすめ|強気市場で爆発的成長が見込まれる注目のミームトークン

    ...

    5 hours ago
  • BTC最高値更新の中で注目される新たなレイヤー2プロジェクトが狙う仮想通貨1000倍の可能性

    ...

    5 hours ago
  • ビットコインが11万8,000ドルの最高値を記録する中で注目すべき仮想通貨プレセール

    ...

    1 day ago
  • 仮想通貨 おすすめ|急騰するDogwifhatとFartcoin、注目の低価格ミームコインとは?

    仮想通貨...

    1 day ago

Newsletter

Be the first to get the latest important crypto news & events to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Us

NewsBTC is a cryptocurrency news service that covers bitcoin news today, technical analysis & forecasts for bitcoin price and other altcoins. Here at NewsBTC, we are dedicated to enlightening everyone about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

We cover BTC news related to bitcoin exchanges, bitcoin mining and price forecasts for various cryptocurrencies.

Disclaimer: The information found on NewsBTC is for educational purposes only. It does not represent the opinions of NewsBTC on whether to buy, sell or hold any investments and naturally investing carries risks. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use information provided on this website entirely at your own risk.

Company

  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Center

Social

© 2025 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

  • Cryptocurrency News
    • Bitcoin News (BTC)
    • Ethereum News (ETH)
    • Ripple News (XRP)
    • Shiba Inu News (SHIB)
    • Cardano News (ADA)
    • Dogecoin News (DOGE)
    • Solana News (SOL)
    • Litecoin News (LTC)
    • Avalanche News (AVAX)
    • Polygon News (MATIC)
  • Crypto Prices
    • Binance Coin (BNB) Price
    • Bitcoin (BTC) Price
    • Cardano (ADA) Price
    • Chainlink (LINK) Price
    • Dogecoin (DOGE) Price
    • Ethereum (ETH) Price
    • Litecoin (LTC) Price
    • Polkadot (DOT) Price
  • Crypto Resources & Directory
  • All Crypto
  • Play Games
  • Casinos
Advertise

© 2025 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy Center or Cookie Policy.