US seizes 2,814 bitcoin from darknet Empire Market founders, adding to its strategic bitcoin reserve.

Saw that Raheim Hamilton got 40 years and agreed to hand over about 1,230 BTC. His co-founder Thomas Pavey is set to forfeit the rest (roughly 1,584 BTC). Total is 2,814 BTC. Under the 2025 executive order, forfeited bitcoin is supposed to go into the strategic reserve and stay there. From what ive seen so far, a darknet marketplace case has almost no identifiable victims to repay, so these coins are more likely to stay locked up than hit the market. I remember Germany took the opposite path in 2024 with the movie2k case. Saxony sold nearly 50,000 BTC under emergency disposal rules and raised about €2.64 billion. At today’s prices those same coins would be worth much more. the obvious difference is the US path removes potential supply while the German path does not. how long do u think the strategic reserve will hold?