The first week of 2025 has seen more developments in the Do Kwon case, $750 million worth of Bitcoin swallowed up by a Welsh landfill, and the potential for a monstrous Silk Road sale crash the market.
Do Kwon Trial to Start in 2026
Do Kwon’s US trial will not start until next year due to the amount of evidence both sides need to wade through, the judge in the case ruled this week. Kwon, who was extradited to the US last week, faces multiple charges from US prosecutors, including fraud and deceiving investors.
Some six terabytes worth of data is expected to be assessed for potential evidentiary value, including from Kwon’s multiple phones, with both sides needing time to go through it, hence the delay. Prosecutors also claimed this week that the total number of victims of the Terra collapse could number in excess of one million.
Welsh Bitcoiner Loses Legal Battle to Excavate Landfill
A Welshman’s legal bid to excavate a landfill site to try and find a drive containing 8,000 bitcoins has ended in failure after the judge ruled that the drive belongs to the county running the landfill. James Howells’s attempt to retrieve the drive, which was thrown out in 2013, made it to the UK High Court, where the judge ruled that Newport City Council legally owned the contents of the Docksway Landfill Site, including the drive containing the $750 million worth of bitcoins.
Howells’s story has made headlines over the years, but it seems his dreams of unbridled wealth are over.
US Government Can Sell $6.5 Billion Worth of Silk Road BTC
The reason for Bitcoin’s $10,000 drop this week was made clear when it was revealed that the US government had been given the go-ahead to liquidate $6.5 billion in bitcoins related to the former dark marketplace Silk Road.
On 30 December, Chief US District Judge Richard Seeborg denied a motion to block the forfeiture of 69,370 bitcoins by authorities, clearing the path for the Department of Justice to sell the haul. Investment company Battle Born Investments had been fighting the sale, claiming that it owned the rights to the coins, but this was ultimately dismissed by Judge Seeborg, and the US Marshals will now handle the sale.
