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Bitcoin Tumbles Below $67K as U.S. Government Moves $2B of 'Silk Road' Tokens
The government is the owner of about $12 billion worth of seized bitcoin, according to Arkham Intelligence.
Updated Jul 30, 2024, 5:44 p.m. Published Jul 29, 2024, 5:11 p.m.
- Some $670 million of the assets was forwarded to an address that could belong to an institutional custody or service, Arkham analysts said.
- Bitcoin dropped nearly 5% from its session highs.
The U.S. government moved $2 billion worth of seized bitcoin on Monday, tanking already retreating prices and sparking investor concerns of selling the assets just two days after presidential hopeful Donald Trump's promise to begin stacking BTC.
Blockchain data by Arkham Intelligence shows that a wallet tagged as "U.S. Government: Silk Road DOJ" transferred 29,800 BTC related to the Silk Road website to an unlabeled address with no prior history of transactions. Then, the address forwarded 19,800 BTC and 10,000 BTC to two different addresses.
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Arkham analysts suspected that the 10,000 BTC transfer worth $670 million was a deposit to an institutional custody or service.
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
Prior movements often foreshadowed impending asset sales.
BTC tumbled below $67,000 following the transfer, extending its decline from the $70,000 session high earlier today. At press time, bitcoin was changing hands at $66,700, down 1.6% over the past 24 hours. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index was flat over the same time period.
Though not necessarily related, the government's move this morning followed Donald Trump's weekend promise at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville to create a "strategic national bitcoin stockpile" if elected.
Read more: Trump Says Democrats Winning Election Will Be Disaster for Crypto: 'Every One of You Will Be Gone'
Prior to the transfer, the U.S. government held $12 billion worth of seized bitcoin, according to Arkham's data.
UPDATE (July 29, 17:36 UTC): Adds Arkham's update about new bitcoin transfer.
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