The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has affirmed a district court’s refusal to award a Florida defendant the value of roughly 3,443 bitcoin—now “worth over $345 million”—after the government destroyed an external hard drive he belatedly claimed held the keys, holding that the equitable doctrine of laches bars relief because he spent years denying he owned meaningful cryptocurrency. The published opinion, authored by Judge Elizabeth “Lisa” Branch Grant and joined by Judges Jill Pryor and Marcus, leaves intact the lower court’s ruling that the United States cannot be compelled to replace the bitcoin, even assuming the drive ever contained it.

FBI Not To Blame For 3,443 Bitcoin Hard Drive Wipe

The case, United States v. Prime, No. 23-13776 , arose from a 2019 arrest that unco

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