Good question, I have no idea what happened to the AlphaBay Bitcoin..
I've read a few horror stories about the depth of corruption in the Thai police and prison system.
The authorities who seized the 33 million in bitcoin sold it off hosting some kind of public auction... who kept the proceeds?
That is my theory of why BITCOIN is tanking.
The bitcoins from SILK ROAD was sold by the US govt in a public auction.
http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Seized-Silk-Road-bitcoins-to-be-sold-at-auction-5553006.php
Where is the bitcoins from Alpahbay? It could be more than 33 MILLIONS.
If Silk Road had $33M worth of bitcoins in 2013, Imagine how much AlphaBay has now in 2017
It would be probably be enough to crash Bitcoin if sold in the open market
Thanks for this insightful comment. Yes, I read about the auction of the 33 million from a public auction that went to an anonymous buyer (whoever that was). You make a very good point here that in 2013 bitcoin's value wasn't what it is today. The article that I quote in the post mentions Cazes having 11 million in assets but doesn't say how much bitcoin was seized and what become of it. Maybe the information will come out...
We shouldn't forget that 2 Federal Agents involved in the take down of the Silk Road flat out stole Bitcoin to enrich themselves.
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/nyregion/silk-road-case-federal-agents-charges.html
The idea that these sites are taken down in order to crash Bitcoin is something I haven't pondered, but it's an interesting angle for sure.
Yes, US goverment's bitcoin wallet got bigger
https://www.wired.com/2013/12/fbi_wallet/
Aside from being a financial goldmine, free from Congressional control
Every bitcoin wallet that ever transacted wtih Alpha Bay is compromised now. FBI will simply trace every bitcoin address there and see if any are from COINBASE or any US based exchange which have KYC (Know Your Customer) regulations