Is there much difference between this, and if the DEA had busted some meth dealers who had a bunch of gold sitting around? Or if the FBI had busted some mafia f

Is there much difference between this, and if the DEA had busted some meth dealers who had a bunch of gold sitting around? Or if the FBI had busted some mafia family with billions in property? What are the precedents here? Does this style of US government confiscation / sale have any analog in realms outside the net? I'm honestly curious, I know that governments are completely within their (self defined, but generally accepted) rights to profit from these seizures, but what are the implications of profiting from the proceeds of crime, and has this raised it's head in more "traditional" areas before?