Anika Begay
The United States (US) government recently moved a whopping 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) seized from Silk Roada notorious online black market platform. Over the years, the government has has performed multiple large-scale Bitcoin transfersstrategically moving these assets to new wallets or different exchanges.
US Government Moves 10,000 BTC to Coinbase Prime
In an X (ex Twitter) send On August 14, Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain analytics platform, discovered a new Bitcoin transfer conducted by the United States government. According to Arkham’s reports, the government had transferred 10,000 BTC, worth $593.5 million, from its stash of seized assets during the dismantling of the Silk Road.
This Massive Bitcoin Transfer has effectively captured the attention of the cryptocurrency community, triggering speculation on its destination and the potential impact on an already struggling market.
In November 2021, the United States government had Over 50,000 BTC seized from the Dark Web marketplace Silk Road. At the time, the total value of the confiscated Bitcoins was approximately $3.36 billion.
Arkham Intelligence revealed that the wallet address, bc1ql, received the 10,000 Silk Road BTC from a cryptocurrency wallet said to be associated with the U.S. government. This substantial BTC was then directed to 33J, a Coinbase Prine deposit wallet.
Given the large amount of BTC involved in the latest government transfer, many members of the cryptocurrency community have questioned if the Government plans to sell BitcoinA potential sell-off could have a drastic effect on the cryptocurrency market, which is still recovering from Bitcoin, Ethereum major crashes and other major cryptocurrencies.
While deposits to a cryptocurrency exchange often suggest an intent to sell a crypto asset, in this case the government may have moved the 10,000 BTC for safekeeping purposes. For more context, on July 1, the U.S. Marshals Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Coinbase Prime selected as a partner to provide advanced custody and trading services for large-cap digital assets.
Bitcoin Price Drops Below $59,000
Following the news of the large-scale transfer of Silk Road BTC by the US government, the price of Bitcoin has dropped significantly. According to CoinMarketCap data, Bitcoin is currently trading sideways, falling below the $59,000 price point.
In the last few weeks, the price of Bitcoin has had a remarkable trend downward trendexperiencing sharp price swings in an attempt to maintain a foothold over $60,000. At one point, the cryptocurrency plunged by more than 20%, largely due to widespread and massive liquidations whale sell-off and the German government.
With speculation riding on a potential BTC sell-off by the US government, Bitcoin price could face increased volatility and further declines. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading at $58,321, marking a substantial decline of 4.11% in the last 24 hours.
Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
