US government seizes $1B in bitcoin as the cryptocurrency rockets past $15,000

The U.S. government announced its seizure of $1 billion worth of the cryptocurrency bitcoin on the same day that the digital asset surged above $15,000 per coin, its highest sustained price since January 2018.

Justice Department officials seized tens of thousands of bitcoins stored in a digital wallet linked to the online drug and firearm marketplace Silk Road, according to U.S. Attorney David Anderson of the Northern District of California.