Massive Silk Road Bitcoin Stash Worth $2 Billion Moved By US Government
A crypto wallet labeled as belonging to the U.S. government transferred roughly $2 billion worth of confiscated Bitcoin (BTC) connected to the infamous Silk Road marketplace to a new unlabeled address — sending the price of Bitcoin lower and igniting investor concerns about selling the assets just two days after presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s promise to “keep 100%” of seized Bitcoin.
Feds Preparing To Sell Silk Road Bitcoin Again?
The Feds are moving their Bitcoin stash again.
Blockchain data by Arkham Intelligence shows that a wallet tagged as belonging to the United States Department of Justice moved $2 billion worth of its BTC to a new address on Monday. This address sent 19,800 BTC ($1.3 billion) and 10,000 BTC ($670 million) to two different wallets. Arkham said the 10,000 BTC stash was deposited to institutional custody or service.
The roughly 28,000 BTC, valued at more than $2 billion, is tied to funds the DOJ previously seized from the now-defunct dark web marketplace Silk Road. In late 2023, a U.S. court finalized a mandate that formalized the forfeiture of 69,370 BTC and other crypto linked to the Silk Road.
The latest transfer spooked investors, although it’s unclear whether the United States intends to sell today’s transferred BTC. The BTC price plummeted below $67,000 after inching toward the $70,000 mark earlier in the day. Bitcoin had slightly rebounded to $67,284 at press time, down 1.1% over the past 24 hours. The alpha crypto is still below its 2021 all-time high of $69,044.
Silk Road, which went bust over 10 years ago, allowed users to purchase and sell illegal goods, including weapons, narcotics, and stolen credit card information. U.S. authorities arrested its creator, Ross Ulbricht, in 2013. He is currently serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole.
BTC As A Strategic Reserve Asset For US
The U.S. government’s BTC movement comes just two days after Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump told the audience at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville, Tennesse, that he would create a national “strategic Bitcoin stockpile” if he returned to the Oval Office. As part of that proposal, Trump indicated that the government would no longer sell any confiscated crypto.
The 78-year-old politician also repeated his promise to commute the sentence of Silk Road’s Ulbricht if reelected president.
According to Arkham, the U.S. government was sitting on a $12 billion BTC fortune before Monday’s transfer — making it one of the single biggest Bitcoin owners in the world after Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy.
