On-chain data shows that the US government moved $2 billion of Bitcoin seized from the Silk Road saga to an unmarked digital wallet.
On Monday, the US government transferred over $2 billion of BTC seized from the dark web marketplace Silk Road. Renowned blockchain analytic firm Arkham Intelligence monitored the transaction.
US Government Move $2 Billion BTC to Unknown Address
The transaction came days after the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announced plans to stop the government from selling seized BTC. Trump vowed to stick to the cardinal rule of Bitcoiners: “Never sell your Bitcoin.”
Despite its limited supply, BTC has proven to be a valuable asset. Irrespective of Trump’s proposal to make America a Bitcoin superpower, the blockchain data shows that a “US government: Silk Road DOJ” wallet moved 29800 BTC to an unidentified address.
Shortly after the transaction, the unmarked address moved 19800 BTC and 10,000 BTC to two other addresses. From their analysis, the Arkham team claimed that the US government moved 10,000 BTC valued at $670 million to institutional custody.
Trump Promises Not to Sell Seized Crypto If Elected
Even though it’s still unclear whether the US government will sell the BTC, the investors have expressed concern about the sell-off. Citing the market turbulence caused by the sell-off of 50,000 BTC by the German government early this month, the investors are worried that Bitcoin might plummet further.
According to CoinMarketCap, BTC dropped by nearly 3.85% in trade at $66,800. On-chain data shows that Bitcoin touched $70,000 on Monday before establishing the dribbling momentum. The sudden price dip elicited heated debate among crypto investors.
On X, the American billionaire Mike Novogratz expresses his disappointment with the government move. The crypto investor condemned the US government for moving the seized BTC from the Silk Road after the Republican presidential candidate vowed not to sell BTC.
Novogratz described the US government as dumb. In a subsequent post, the renowned venture capitalist Adam Cochran argued that the government had not planned to dispose of the BTC seized from Silk Road.
He recalled an earlier announcement where the US Marshall Service (USMS) had granted Coinbase Prime a contract to facilitate the sale of the largest cap crypto assets.
Crypto Community Condemn US Government for Moving Seized BTC
From his analysis, Cochran argued that the transfer did not imply that the government would sell the seized BTC.
He added that occasionally, the Federal Reserve holds crypto assets seized from criminal activities, and at times, they move the assets to other wallets and custodial services.
On-chain data illustrates that the US government holds $12 billion worth of crypto assets confiscated from criminal activities. Even though the Fed is used to selling the seized BTC, it does not imply they’re about to sell BTC from the Silk Road, Cochran argued.
