The US government has moved $2 billion worth of bitcoin, previously confiscated from the defunct dark web marketplace Silk Road. According to data from Arkham Intelligence, a wallet labeled as belonging to the US government transferred nearly 28,000 BTC to an unidentified address on Monday.
UPDATE: The U.S. Government has split the $2B Bitcoin into two addresses:
— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) July 29, 2024
10,000 BTC ($669.35M): bc1qlap8hkt9genaljz5nt2zlehhudx63zlahr2zek
19,800 BTC ($1.33B): bc1qngydl7hmgdtmuqjmtsyj3pcwszv0yn5mj6kz4c
We believe this represents a 10,000 BTC deposit to an institutional… https://t.co/0aULBXGd8P pic.twitter.com/RTwtaqvMmM
The transfer, which comes after a US appeals court finalized the forfeiture of Silk Road-related cryptocurrency late last year, was followed by a split of the funds into two separate addresses. Analysts suspect that a portion of the transferred bitcoin may have been deposited with an institutional custody service.
This movement has impacted the cryptocurrency market, with bitcoin prices falling below $67,000 following the transfer. The timing of the move is notable, coming just days after former President Donald Trump’s statement at the Bitcoin 2024 conference, where he proposed creating a “strategic national bitcoin stockpile” (and promised to commute the sentence of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht) if re-elected.
⚠️🚨⚠️🚨 lmao Biden really gonna hit the dump button on the $14B $BTC to clap back at Trump saying he wanted to keep it for “strategic stockpile”
— Rho Rider (@RhoRider) July 29, 2024
Funny thing is before the speech put it in the spotlight Biden probably didn’t even know they had it 😂 https://t.co/oxxYMml1Mc
The US government’s crypto portfolio still holds over $12 billion in Bitcoin, according to Arkham Intelligence.
Information for this story was found via the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.