- There are reports that the US has moved 10,000 BTC seized from Silk Road to Coinbase.
- The government still holds 203,200 BTC, worth about $12 billion.
- Future sell-offs in the US could impact cryptocurrency markets.
According to data from Arkham Intelligence, the U.S. government transferred 10,000 Bitcoins (BTC) worth approximately $590 million to a Coinbase wallet.
The transferred BTC are linked to assets seized from the infamous Silk Road dark web marketplace.
US Government Bitcoin Transfers
The transferred bitcoins came from a wallet associated with the U.S. government, which currently holds a significant amount of the cryptocurrency.
According to Arkham data, the U.S. government still controls over 203,200 BTC, making it the largest holder of Bitcoin in the world. This holding is valued at around $12 billion at current market prices.
The majority of the government’s Bitcoin holdings have been accumulated through law enforcement activities, most notably the seizure of approximately 174,000 BTC from the Silk Road marketplace.
Silk Road was a notorious online black market that facilitated the sale of illegal goods and services until it was shut down by authorities in 2013. Since then, the U.S. government has periodically auctioned off some of the seized bitcoins, but recent incidents like the massive transfer to Coinbase have sparked speculation about potential future sales.
The latest move follows a transfer of about $241 million worth of bitcoin in late June and another $2 billion in late July, raising questions about the government’s intentions with the digital asset. It is unclear whether the government intends to sell or hold onto the bitcoin.
The decision to move such a large amount of Bitcoin to a Coinbase wallet has received considerable attention as it could be a sign of upcoming market activity.
Investors and analysts are watching the situation closely as the massive government sell-off could have implications for cryptocurrency markets.