The Presumption of Innocence Podcast: Episode 39 - Unthreading the Silk Road: A Conversation With Author Nick Bilton
A Conversation with Ben Simpfendorfer on Asia Restructurings
A marketplace of drugs, guns and murder for hire. Journalist and author Nick Bilton explored the illicit web-based market the Silk Road in his page-turner, American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind...more
On November 7, 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had seized more than $3.36 billion worth of bitcoin as part of a continuing investigation into a 10-year fraud involving the Silk Road dark web...more
A recent audit conducted by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”)’s Office of Inspector General (the “OIG”) revealed that the Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) acted outside the scope of its authority while transacting tens of...more
We have all heard the stories. Romeo and Juliet, Cleopatra and Mark Antony, and my personal favorite, Illsa Lund and Rick Blaine. Everyone loves a great love story. A developing romance leading to an emotionally pleasing and...more
Twenty venture capitalists gathered in Silicon Valley last week to discuss the impact of blockchain technology, including digital currency, on financial services and venture capital. The 20 VCs represent an equal number of...more
In the past several months, China has adopted new arbitration rules and unveiled a new arbitration center to help resolve the inevitable international disputes arising from the development of The Silk Road Economic Belt and...more
On May 31, 2017, the Second Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in the “Silk Road” case, United States v. Ulbricht, (15-1815-cr) (2nd Cir. May 31, 2017) (Newman, Lynch, Droney)....more
On May 31, 2017, the Second Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in the “Silk Road” case, United States v. Ulbricht, (15-1815-cr) (2nd Cir. May 31, 2017) (Newman, Lynch, Droney). The panel affirmed Ulbricht’s conviction...more
Below is a summary of some of the significant legal and regulatory actions that occurred over the past week. This alert is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all such developments, but rather a selection of...more
J. K. Rowling’s world of Harry Potter included an array of amazing artifacts; our personal favorites were the books and pictures that changed themselves. Two decades later, a world of Kindles and iPads echoes the wonders of...more
Emoticons—such as :-)—and emoji are ubiquitous in online and mobile communications; according to one study, 74 percent of Americans use emoticons, emoji and similar images on a regular basis. Given their popularity, it...more
When computer science professor Scott Fahlman posted a sideways smiley face on an electronic message board at Carnegie Mellon University in 1982, he could not possibly have known that combination of dots and dashes would give...more
Silk Road was a notorious black market for narcotics that used seemingly untraceable digital currencies (i.e., Bitcoins) to facilitate illegal activities on the “dark web.” Last week, former Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”)...more
On June 26, 2015 at the ABA National Institute on Bitcoin and Other Digital Currencies, Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell sent a targeted warning to financial institutions that deal with Bitcoin and other virtual...more
On May 29, 2015, after a lengthy criminal investigation and multi-week trial, Ross Ulbricht, the mastermind behind Silk Road—one of the most famous enterprises to utilize Bitcoin currency—was sentenced to life in prison in a...more
The founder of Silk Road, the black market website where illegal goods were bought with bitcoin, was found guilty on all 7 counts, including money laundering, drug trafficking and computer hacking. While this is an...more
When Is Bitcoin “Money” Versus a “Security”? In motions involving a high-profile criminal prosecution with ties to Silk Road and a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement action, two federal courts have clarified...more
On August 19, Judge Jed S. Rakoff of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a ruling in the case of Robert Faiella, holding that bitcoins are “money,” citing the plain meaning of the term in The...more
In another installment of the continuing saga surrounding the shuttering of the Silk Road online marketplace and arrest of its alleged creator and operator, Ross William Ulbricht (Ulbricht), a Southern District of New York...more
As reported in our earlier post, the U.S. Government has begun its first ever auction of Bitcoins. The Bitcoins to be auctioned were seized in connection with the shutdown of the Silk Road - the "dark net" site that served as...more
The US Marshals Service (USMS) announced that it will hold an online auction on June 27 to sell bitcoins contained in wallet files seized from the servers of Silk Road, the “deep web” black market shut down by the Federal...more
Latham & Watkins co-hosted a senior level industry summit with ASIFMA in Hong Kong entitled "Maximizing Outcomes in Upcoming Restructurings." Ben Simpendorfer, Managing Director of Silk Road Assoicates, shares insights from...more
For two decades, during the 1620s and 1630s, Europe fell into the grip of “tulip mania.” At its peak in 1637, tulip bulbs were sold for more than 10 times the average worker’s annual income—enough to buy a house. Within...more
Last week’s arrests of Robert Faiella, an alleged seller on online marketplace Silk Road, and Charlie Shrem, the CEO of the startup BitInstant, marked a recent round in a series of law enforcement actions against what the...more
The United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced the forfeiture of approximately 29,655 Bitcoins in connection with the seizure of the Silk Road website....more