The Justice Department has resurrected a federal asset forfeiture program that permits law enforcement to seize assets in states where the practice faces legal restrictions. Attorney General Eric Hold
The Justice Department has resurrected a federal asset forfeiture program that permits law enforcement to seize assets in states where the practice faces legal restrictions. Attorney General Eric Holder narrowed federal civil forfeiture in 2015, limiting when local police could claim property without evidence of a crime. That constraint has been lifted.
Current Attorney General Jeff Sessions has embraced asset forfeiture as a strategy to combat drug trafficking. He identified drug dealers as targets for enforcement action. The timing reveals an irony. Those dealers have moved to bitcoin and darknet markets. An estimated $300 million in contraband flows through these channels each year. For dealers, the cryptocurrency solves what asset forfeiture creates: a way to hold and transfer value without detection.
Bitcoin functions as a bearer asset. Whoever holds the private key controls the coins. Law enforcement cannot seize what they cannot access. No government order can compel a transaction. Owners can memorize their keys as brain wallets, leaving no physical record of assets. Smartphone applications deliver this capability without friction.
President Barack Obama spoke at South by Southwest in early 2016 and observed that everyone would be "walking around with a Swiss bank account in their pocket" if governments could not access smartphone data. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts adopted this language. Developers at Samourai Wallet built privacy protections into their software, converting the concept into code. Privacy remains central to every layer of the wallet's design.
Debates over asset forfeiture have continued for years. Reform advocates have pushed for restrictions. The new DOJ position abandons those safeguards. Barry Cooper, a former Texas narcotics officer, operates NeverGetBusted.com, where he advises people facing drug charges. A Vice documentary chronicled his move from law enforcement to activism. His voice shapes how people discuss civil forfeiture.
Government agents seized two major darknet markets. Law enforcement officials acknowledged the symbolic weight of these operations. They expect more markets will emerge. Supply chains will reconstitute on new platforms. Bitcoin advocates point to these seizure powers as evidence the currency fills a necessary role for those attempting to protect assets from law enforcement seizure.
