The U.S. government has transferred Bitcoin worth $241 million to Coinbase hours after another huge BTC transfer by the German government.
This transaction is part of the government’s ongoing management of seized Bitcoin assets, particularly those linked to the infamous Silk Road marketplace.
It’s the 2nd time the U.S. is moving its Bitcoin holdings
According to Arkham Intelligence, today’s BTC transfer by the U.S. Government, $3,940 BTC were moved to Coinbase underscoring the government’s ongoing efforts to manage and potentially liquidate its substantial Bitcoin holdings, which currently stand at around $13.3 billion.
The bitcoins under the custody of the U.S. Government originated from the Silk Road seizure, an operation that shut down the notorious dark web marketplace in 2013.
Silk Road was infamous for facilitating illegal transactions involving drugs, weapons, and other illicit goods.
Today’s transfer is not the first of its kind. Earlier in April, the U.S. government transferred a staggering 30,175 BTC, valued at approximately $2 billion at the time, from the same wallet to Coinbase.
April’s transaction included a small test transfer of 0.001 BTC to a Coinbase Prime deposit address, followed by the main transfer of 1,999 BTC. The remaining 28,176 BTC was moved to another government-controlled wallet, likely as part of a planned sale strategy.
Impact on the crypto market
These large-scale transfers by the U.S. government have significant implications for the cryptocurrency market.
In addition to the U.S. government’s activities, the German government has also been active in transferring seized Bitcoin.
Today (June 26), the German government transferred 750 BTC, valued at $46.35 million, to different addresses.
Over the past week, Germany has moved approximately $150 million worth of Bitcoin to known exchange addresses and an additional $147 million to the “139Po” address. Despite these transfers, Germany still holds a significant amount of Bitcoin, approximately 45,609 BTC valued at $2.8 billion.
These governmental actions come at a time when the crypto market is closely monitoring other significant events, such as the Mt. Gox trustee’s announcement of a $9 billion repayment plan. Victims of the defunct exchange are set to receive payouts in Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), further contributing to potential market volatility.
These dumps of bitcoins into the market could exacerbate the Bitcoin bearish momentum that had been guiding over the past few days.
Notably, the transfer of substantial amounts of Bitcoin (BTC) to exchanges like Coinbase mostly suggests potential liquidation, which can increase selling pressure in the market.
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