The United States government may be selling more of its massive Bitcoin (BTC) stash, potentially piling more sell pressure onto the crypto market, according to blockchain data.
- On-chain sleuth ZachXBT noted on Tuesday that government controlled Bitcoin tied to Silk Road initiated a small transaction to Coinbase – the crypto exchange previously used by the government to sell its coins.
- Shortly afterwards, the government’s wallet transferred 1999 BTC to Coinbase Prime, worth $139 million at the time.
- The government’s main address for its Silk Road Bitcoin now holds 29,799 BTC, worth $1.96 billion at writing time.
- The government first seized over 50,000 BTC connected to Silk Road in late 2021 from the marketplace’s hacker, James Zhong. It began selling those coins incrementally last year, last including a 9000 BTC sale in July 2023.
- The government’s sales have thus far had little visible effect on Bitcoin’s price movements. In fact, its first sale of 9,861 BTC in March 2023 preceded a 25% surge in Bitcoin’s price before the DOJ could officially announce the sale had been made.
Source:cryptopotato.com
