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by stronglikedan 4227 days ago
So basically, put the current value of the coins in escrow, instead of the coins themselves, in case they drop in value dramatically over time. Makes sense to me.
4 comments

Tangent: Does anyone know if it's standard practice for these sorts of arrangements to be made if other goods become part of forfeiture proceedings? (For instance, shares of a volatile mutual fund. Or, to take it out of the financial realm entirely, a truckload of perishable vegetables.)
I would guess that there has never been a case of a criminal investing their ill-gotten gains into "a truckload of perishable vegetables."
While not really an analogue, there is the delightfully-named United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Approximately...

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/garlic-man-begle...

Massive tax fraud case involving Secret Garlic; it happens :)

If the prosecution loses the case, it can be held liable in a civil case to losses the defendant made. So this is just an agreement between both sides to lower that risk and which does change nothing related to the case (so the judge will agree too). I guess, if there are no objections (even from a third party), this makes totally sense for anything else, too.
@kordless:

It says they agree. Doesn't sound forced.

Maybe it's one of those things that should not be allowed even if people agree to it.
What is? Selling bitcoins should not be allowed?
government selling your stuff even if you signed paper saying that you agree to it

every agreement you signed with government should be implicitly treated as coerced

they could also possibly go up in value.

does the government do the same with securities/stock owned too?

The Marshals Service manages various types of assets, including real estate, vehicles, commercial businesses, cash, financial instruments, jewelry, art, antiques, collectibles, vessels and aircraft.

The agency uses practices from private industry to ensure that assets are managed and sold in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

http://www.usmarshals.gov/assets/

A forced sale of an asset is NOT the same as putting it into escrow.
What text on that excerpt leads you to believe this was forced?
The "US Marshalls" part.
You missed the "Government and Ulbricht agree" part.
Sounds like 3 wolves and a sheep agreeing on lunch plans.
So, in other words, only your own biases and preconceived notions.

Edit: I'd be curious to hear the side of you down voters. Do you have a legitimate gripe with the accuracy of what i said, or do you just blindly believe that everything the government does is evil?

So, in other words, only _your_ _own_ biases and preconceived notions. Edit: I'd be curious to hear the side of you down voters. Do you have a legitimate gripe with the accuracy of what i said, or do you just blindly believe that everything the government does is _for_the_greater_good_?

Your argument is just shallow and not very constructive and having it reversed should make that somewhat apparent.

Personally, the general consensus around these parts is that DPR was brought down with illegal methods by the FBI and then having the actual disclosure being horse shit (aka parallel construction). So yes, blindly trusting that the government is doing anything in good faith around this case is going to be pretty rare.

To recap: Kordless suggested that the sale was forced. EpicEng asked what indicated that it was forced. Sneak replied that "the 'US Marshalls' part" indicated that it was forced. EpicEng correctly noted that this does not strongly indicate that it was forced, and that to assume so based on the fact that the US Marshalls are involved is evidence of bias.

To further recap: EpicEng did not suggest that "everything the government does is for the greater good," nor did EpicEng even say that the sale was not forced — only that we don't have a compelling reason to believe it was.

Since EpicEng is merely asking for rational thought, I don't see how this can possibly be evidence of EpicEng's biases and preconceived notions.

As a side note, your phrasing here suggests that the only alternatives in your mind are "blindly trust the government" and "blindly accuse everyone involved with the government of any wrongdoing possible," which are both irrational positions. We can consider whether the government is doing something wrong without jumping to conclusions as the people EpicEng was replying to seemed to do.

It's nice to know that "the general consensus" is an arbiter of logic and reason now and anyone who does not conform to this opinion is on the other side of a false dichotomy who must be shown the error of their ways.