Darkweb Bitcoin used for national reserves: collected in the United States, sold in Saxony

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A federal judge in Chicago sentenced Empire Market founder Raheim Hamilton to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine

On Monday, October 5, 2026, a federal judge in Chicago sentenced Raheim Hamilton to 40 years in prison and fined him a $5 million fine. Hamilton is the co-founder of the dark web market Empire Market and operated the market from 2018 to 2020.

As part of the prosecutor's agreement, Hamilton was required to hand over approximately 1,230 bitcoins, 24.4 Ethereum and three properties in Virginia. A statement issued on October 7 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois confirmed the above details. Its co-founder Thomas Pavey has agreed to hand over approximately 1,584 bitcoins, and its sentencing is expected in late October.

A total of 2,814 bitcoins were required to be transferred between the two. Based on Sunday morning prices, the assets were worth about $234 million (about 209 million euros). However, the question worth exploring than their value is: What will the government do with these assets? Currently, the United States adopts the strategy of retaining confiscated bitcoins rather than selling them. In contrast, the German state of Saxony took the opposite approach in 2024, and the funds remained in the accounts.

Empire Market: Cryptocurrency trading volume reaches US$430 million

Before it was banned in 2020,"Empire Market" was one of the largest dark web markets. According to prosecutors, more than 4 million transactions were conducted through the platform, with a total value of more than US$430 million, of which drug transactions accounted for the largest proportion, nearly US$375 million. All payments are exclusively made in cryptocurrency, and operators advise customers to hide payment records through currency mixers. Investigators have seized $75 million worth of crypto assets during the investigation.

Will these bitcoins enter Trump's bitcoin reserves?

The basis for this issue is an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on March 6, 2025. The order establishes a "strategic bitcoin reserve" to hold all Treasury bitcoins that are ultimately confiscated in criminal or civil proceedings. Bitcoin in this reserve cannot be sold. The order clearly lists exceptions, including the return of funds to identifiable victims of crime and court orders.

Since the drug market leaves few victims in need of compensation, these coins are likely to end up in reserves. Authorities have not announced whether or when this will happen. This requires finalization of the forfeiture process, and Pavey has not yet been sentenced.

This week, the market is closely monitoring the dynamics of bitcoin held by countries. The wallet belonging to the government transferred 17,733 bitcoins to the Coinbase Prime account, prompting discussions about a sale. As of now, there is no record of sales. Congress is also considering a bill that would make state-held bitcoin unsaleable for at least 20 years, but the bill has not yet passed.

Emergency disposal in Saxony: 49,858 bitcoins were sold

Germany is on the other path. In a case related to the illegal streaming website movie2k, the defendant transferred approximately 49,858 bitcoins to investigators in January 2024. The Prosecutor General of Dresden sold these bitcoins through the Scheich Banking Group in Frankfurt between June 19 and July 12, 2024, raising € 2,639.68 million 3,413.92, as outlined in his statement of July 16, 2024.

The legal basis is emergency disposal as stipulated in Article 111p of the Criminal Procedure Law. When seized assets face a depreciation risk of approximately 10% or more, they must be sold before judgment. For Bitcoin, authorities believe that this condition can be met at any time due to price fluctuations. Authorities stressed that the price on the day of the sale did not affect the decision.

Chart explanation: The gains Saxony will earn in 2024, the value of the equivalent amount of Bitcoin today, and the amount to be transferred from the Empire Market.
Source: Attorney General of Dresden, U.S. Department of Justice, CoinGecko; calculated on your own.

In hindsight, the sale was costly

On average, Saxony earns approximately € 52,944 per bitcoin. Today, the cost of a Bitcoin is about 74,127 euros, so the same coin is worth about 3.7 billion euros, which is about 1 billion euros more than the proceeds. The reverse is true: if prices fall, authorities will speculate with other people's assets. Preventing this situation is the purpose of emergency response.

Who owns the 2.64 billion euros in the movie2k case?

This money did not flow into the national budget. It is only a temporary guarantee for criminal proceedings. The Leipzig Regional Court is responsible for determining confiscation matters. The trial of the suspected main operator opened in February 2026. Victims rank ahead of the country, especially film rights holders. The Attorney General's latest statement on the case (dated June 29, 2026) concerns a side case in which a Berlin real estate agent was required to pay approximately 2.5 million euros in damages. The final decision on the billions of euros was not reported in the article.

Caption: The Leipzig Regional Court was also responsible for ruling on the € 2.64 billion from the sale of Bitcoin in the movie2k case.
Image source: Tuxyso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0