The heist could be even larger than that, though; it may have involved up to 96,000 BTC ($100 million), which would be by far the largest Bitcoin theft in U.S. dollars, given that Bitcoin's value is currently at an all-time high. After the abrupt closings of both sites, others launched in the wake of Silk Road's shutdown in October will stand as the leading websites for buying drugs and other illegal goods online: Silk Road 2.0, which was launched less than a month ago, and the lesser-known Pandora Marketplace, Deep Bay and Budster. Redditors pointed to a transfer of 39,900 BTC this weekend, claiming it was an indication that the administrators were siphoning money from users' accounts on the site, as first reported by Forbes. The message claimed vendor EBOOK101 hacked the site and stole 5,400 Bitcoin: 
 
 Sheep is down 
 
 We are sorry to say, but we were robbed on Saturday 11/21/2013 by vendor EBOOK101. Here’s how silkroadreloaded2 describes what’s happened since (“Tomas” is the alleged owner of Sheep, and one of the suspects for many users): 
 
 All day, we've been chasing the scoundrel with our stolen bitcoins through the blockchain. "Around lunchtime (UK), I was chasing him across the roof of a moving train, (metaphorically). I was less than 20 minutes, or 2 blockchain confirmations, behind 'Tomas.'" Selling those bitcoins and turning them into cash is going to be extremely difficult, as the major Bitcoin exchanges all demand proof of identity (specifically to avoid charges that they're involved in money laundering), and if they're broken down into smaller quantities to sell via a site like localbitcoins.com a paper trail will still be generated.
– At this point, it's one of the largest thefts in history—and one of the most convoluted. Some person, or group, apparently made off with 96,000 Bitcoins worth a staggering $100 million, reports the Verge. The Bitcoins came from users of the underground bazaar called Sheep Marketplace, one of the successors to the shuttered Silk Road site. The cyber-thieves managed to drain users' accounts over the course of a week, and nobody was the wiser because they did so while keeping fake balance statements up, reports the New Statesman. Many of those who got bilked are on Reddit sharing information and trying to track down the money. "Many believe the heist was a scam, and the No. 1 suspect among Redditors is the Sheep Marketplace administrator, a Czech citizen named Tomáš Jirikovský," reports Mashable. The New Statesman article has details on the world of Bitcoin laundering—it's called "tumbling"—with this intriguing line: "Right now, as you’re reading this, you can watch as the thief starts trying to move their Bitcoins on again—it’s currently down to 92,000 Bitcoins and dropping as smaller chunks begin going out." In the meantime, Sheep Marketplace has shut down.