Gal Vallerius, the 36 year old French-Israeli citizen who famously

Gal Vallerius, the 36 year old French-Israeli citizen who famously goes by the alias of ‘Oxymonster’ on the dark web, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by the US District Judge Robert Scola. ‘Oxymonster’ was arrested by the police in 2017 at the Atlanta airport where he was posed to attend the World Beard and Moustache Championship. After being convicted of narco trafficking and money laundering, Vallerius will now begin his prison term in the South of Florida.
Vallerius admitted to selling narcotics like heroin, cocaine, Ritalin, oxycodone, in exchange for digital currencies such as the Bitcoin on the dark web. The police seized Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash worth as much as USD 700,000 from the infamous drug dealer. The cryptocurrencies seized will now be surrendered to the government.
Many have been wondering as to what happens to the massive cryptocurrency seized from the Oxymonster. The same was the question 3 years ago when the creator of the notorious Silk Road website, Ross Ulbricht was imprisoned for life, and around 144,336 of his Bitcoin were seized by the government officials. At the time, Bitcoin was trading at around USD 300. The government was able to realize a profit of USD 48 million after selling the cryptocurrency to auctions. The government’s quick selling of the Bitcoins was criticized by many as storing them could have earned it more profit.
Vallerius would be required to give the government access to all the passwords as well as any other important information necessary for gaining access to the cryptocurrency. Those privy to this news are left to speculate whether the government will, once again, go the Silk Route way when it comes to selling the cryptocurrency, or if it would delay selling until Bitcoin prices see an upward swing.
In 2017, California’s officials forfeited cryptocurrency worth USD 8 million from the Dark Web kingpin, Alexandra Cazes after he committed suicide. As early as this week, Gary Davis, pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell narcotics on the dark web under an alias. The slew of cryptocurrency related crimes entail that government will be faced with many such decisions when it comes to handling the digital currency. Let’s wait and watch what the fate of crypto acquired by the government through the legal system will be!