forfeiture

The gist of Grewal’s argument is that the funding for Coinbase’s contract comes from seized crypto assets in the Justice Department’s Assets Forfeiture Fund, not from congressional appropriations.

Indeed, the Congressional Research Service, in a close examination of the Assets Forfeiture Fund in 2015, found that for most purposes, the fund was the beneficiary of “a permanent appropriation” by Congress.

Violators can face criminal penalties and fines of up to $34,000, along with the forfeiture of any vessel involved in the incident.

When we move forward into current-day America, even something as simple as the role sheriffs play in civil asset forfeiture, or the role of sheriffs in enforcing evictions, reinforces this idea that this is a tool used to keep a particular power balance in society.

He said: "The police are going to deal with by way of asset forfeiture in the lower court."