FBI unable to access Silk Road founder's Bitcoin treasure
Posted by: Jon Ben-Mayor on 10/08/2013 08:50 AM
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The FBI is having a bit of trouble accessing the over 600,000, thought to be worth around $80 Million, in Bitcoins that the Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, known as Dread Pirate Roberts is holding in his "wallet."
The Guardian explains that Bitcoin is a digital currency based on a methods of cryptography similar to those used to protect confidential emails. Due to its decentralised nature – the currency does not rely on any centralized agency to process payments, instead relying on work done by users’ computers – it is popular for a number of fringe-legal and illegal uses. One of those uses was Silk Road, where Bitcoin was required for all transactions.
In order to transfer Bitcoins out of a “wallet”, the name for the digital file which contains the encrypted information necessary to spend the currency, users need to know that wallet’s password or “private key”.
“The FBI has not been able to get to Ulbricht’s personal Bitcoin yet,” wrote Hill. An FBI spokesperson said to Hill that the “$80m worth” that Ulbricht had “was held separately and is encrypted”. At current exchange rates, that represents slightly more than 5% of all bitcoins in circulation.
Even if the FBI is not able to transfer the money, now that Ulbricht is in captivity and most of his possessions have been seized, the funds are likely to stay where they are.
Could this spark a cyber treasure hunt?
The Guardian explains that Bitcoin is a digital currency based on a methods of cryptography similar to those used to protect confidential emails. Due to its decentralised nature – the currency does not rely on any centralized agency to process payments, instead relying on work done by users’ computers – it is popular for a number of fringe-legal and illegal uses. One of those uses was Silk Road, where Bitcoin was required for all transactions.In order to transfer Bitcoins out of a “wallet”, the name for the digital file which contains the encrypted information necessary to spend the currency, users need to know that wallet’s password or “private key”.
“The FBI has not been able to get to Ulbricht’s personal Bitcoin yet,” wrote Hill. An FBI spokesperson said to Hill that the “$80m worth” that Ulbricht had “was held separately and is encrypted”. At current exchange rates, that represents slightly more than 5% of all bitcoins in circulation.
Even if the FBI is not able to transfer the money, now that Ulbricht is in captivity and most of his possessions have been seized, the funds are likely to stay where they are.
Could this spark a cyber treasure hunt?
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