Bitcoins worth $1.5 billion were discovered in popcorn cans.
The government seized nearly $1.5 billion in Bitcoin during a raid on the hacker responsible for the 2012 Silk Road hack. Bitcoins were discovered in popcorn cans.
The US Department of Justice discovered almost $1.5 billion in Bitcoin at a hacker's home during a raid last year. This is the second greatest foreclosure in the history of the United States.
Although the raid occurred last year, the Department of Justice just learned about it today, when BBC News reported on it.
When the item was seized a year ago, Bitcoin's price was at its peak and it was worth approximately $5.1 billion. Since then, however, the price of Bitcoin has plummeted to its present worth of only $1.5 billion.
James Zhong, the first hacker to be accused of stealing Bitcoin, admitted to stealing the cryptocurrency in 2012. Silk Road, an underground marketplace website, was robbed.
Silk Road is a website that only select individuals may access, much less make an account for or shop on.
Silk Road was the first "darknet" marketplace to sell narcotics and other illegal substances to a large number of individuals. The Silk Road was shut down by international authorities in 2013, and its creator, Ross Ulbricht, was found guilty and sentenced to life in jail in 2015.
When the authorities arrived at Zhong's residence, they reported seeing Bitcoin spread across multiple hard drives, USB drives, and other devices. In addition, they claimed that some of the Bitcoins were concealed in popcorn cans in the bathroom cabinet.
Utilizing the website's outdated payment system, Zhong may be able to steal Bitcoins from Silk Road users. By making multiple accounts on the market and depositing modest quantities of Bitcoin into each wallet, he should be able to quickly and undetectedly extract greater and larger sums.
The authorities utilized "cryptocurrency tracking," a relatively novel technique, to locate Zhong. He might face up to 20 years in prison.