A volatile day in the crypto sphere was marked by two major international events: the arrest of a notorious darknet founder in the Czech Republic over a $45 million Bitcoin bribery case and a rollercoaster of statements from the U.S. Treasury that sent Bitcoin’s price tumbling.
In the Czech Republic, police have reportedly apprehended Tomas Jirikovsky, the founder of the illegal darknet site Sheep Marketplace, in connection with a massive Bitcoin donation that led to the resignation of former Justice Minister Pavel Blazek. Authorities intervened on Thursday in the ongoing investigation, with Chief State Prosecutor Radim Dragoun confirming that officials were “securing people and things” in a criminal case.
While the official statement did not name individuals, local reports confirmed the arrest of Jirikovsky, a convicted criminal. He is alleged to have paid 468 BTC, valued at approximately $45 million at the time, to the minister in an attempt to evade a new prison sentence. The arrest itself was dramatic, as Jirikovsky reportedly tried to escape by climbing onto the roof of his house during the Thursday night raid before being captured by police. Jirikovsky is the programmer behind the Sheep Marketplace, a platform known for its links to the sale of drugs, weapons, and counterfeit goods.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the cryptocurrency market was thrown into turmoil by comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Bitcoin’s price plunged after Bessent stated in a FOX Business interview that the government would not be purchasing Bitcoin for its strategic reserve. “We’re not going to be buying that,” he said, clarifying that the reserve would instead be built up using confiscated assets.
The remarks had an immediate and significant impact, sending Bitcoin’s price falling from over $121,000 to below $119,000 within an hour. The drop came shortly after Bitcoin had reached a new all-time high, briefly surpassing the market capitalization of Google. The statement appeared to contradict a previous executive order from President Donald Trump that directed the government to explore “budget-neutral strategies” for increasing the nation’s Bitcoin holdings.
Hours later, in an apparent reversal, Secretary Bessent took to the social media platform X to clarify the Treasury’s position. He stated that the department remains “committed to exploring budget-neutral pathways to acquire more Bitcoin to expand the reserve.” This was intended to execute on the President’s promise to make the United States the “Bitcoin superpower of the world.” Despite the clarification, the market remained shaken from the initial sell-off.
