The US Government has reportedly transferred 30,174 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $2.1 billion, to Coinbase, raising questions about potential market impacts.
This move is part of a pattern of government sales of seized Bitcoin, including a previous $1 billion transfer, with implications for the cryptocurrency market and Bitcoin’s price.

According to the wallet database Arkham Intelligence, the US government has transferred 30,174 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $2.1 billion, to the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. This significant transaction, still awaiting official confirmation from the US Government, aligns with reports by Bloomberg about a US government account holding nearly $2 billion in Bitcoin—previously seized from the infamous black-market website, Silk Road—executing several transactions ahead of an anticipated liquidation.

This development mirrors a prior action, where the US Government moved approximately $1 billion worth of Bitcoin seized from Silk Road to Coinbase, as previously reported by CNF. In total, around 49,000 BTC have been transferred from Silk Road holdings to Coinbase.

Adding to this narrative, a recent CNF YouTube video suggests that this transfer is likely connected to the Silk Road case, a well-known hub for illicit activities like money laundering and drug trafficking. While the government has not yet confirmed this, Arkham Intelligence has identified the source as a wallet linked to the US government. To contextualize, the US government seized about 50,000 bitcoins tied to Silk Road in late 2022.

The government’s last confirmed sale of such assets took place in March 2023, involving 9,861 coins for $216 million. If verified, this recent transaction would exceed the previous one in value.

Speculating Bitcoin’s Market Response: Could BTC Price Dip to $60,000?

Bitcoin’s current market price hovers around $65,000, with expectations of an increase as the Bitcoin Halving event approaches later this month. Amidst these developments, a tweet by on-chain investigator ZachXBT has highlighted this event in the crypto community. It reads: “30.1K BTC ($2.1B) of Silk Road hack funds controlled by US government is on the move right now. 0.001 BTC ($69) transferred to a Coinbase deposit address, so it’s a test transfer possibly.”

30.1K BTC ($2.1B) of Silk Road hack funds controlled by US government is on the move right now.

0.001 BTC ($69) transferred to a Coinbase deposit address so it’s a test transfer possibly.

txn hash
9c3af4b48e66565f1da1da8278036fa1dbb09f2beaaca99c3504475390ba4590

Coinbase…

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) April 2, 2024

Amidst these developments, BTC currently trades at $66,466, experiencing a marginal decrease of 0.05% in the past day and over 4% in the past week, according to CoinMarketCap data. This situation leads to speculation: Could BTC’s price potentially dip to $60,000?

Given these market dynamics and the historic behavior of Bitcoin following significant governmental actions, a dip to $60,000 could be within the realm of possibility, especially considering market sensitivities and potential liquidation of large Bitcoin holdings. However, the crypto market’s notorious unpredictability makes any definitive forecast challenging.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ April 3, 2024 9:08 am