According to onchain data, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has moved 9,825 Bitcoin (BTC) – equivalent to $302 million – to new addresses. This Bitcoin was seized in connection to the shutdown of the darknet marketplace, Silk Road. The OKLink dashboard reveals that the BTC was sent in two transactions, with one still pending at the time of writing.
Previous Sale of Bitcoin by U.S. Government
Earlier this year, the U.S. government sold 9,800 BTC for $215.7 million via the Coinbase crypto exchange. The authorities had previously announced their plans to liquidate the remaining balance of over 40,000 Bitcoin in four batches throughout the year.
Origin of Silk Road Bitcoin
The Silk Road Bitcoin refers to the more than 50,000 BTC that the U.S. government confiscated from James Zhong in 2022. Zhong had hacked the dark web marketplace in 2012 to steal funds. It took nearly a decade for the government to finally recover the stolen funds.
Bitcoin’s Price Unaffected by U.S. BTC Movement
Despite the speculation surrounding the movement of Bitcoin by the U.S. government, the price of BTC remains unchanged. Currently trading at $30,713, it has gained 0.18% in the last 24 hours. Over the past month, BTC’s price has mostly stayed above $30,000 as bullish sentiments returned to the market. Major traditional financial institutions, such as BlackRock and Fidelity, have shown interest in a spot BTC ETF, contributing to the positive market sentiment.
Furthermore, data from ByteTree, as shared by crypto analyst Miles Deutscher, indicates a significant accumulation of Bitcoin by funds. In June, the amount of Bitcoin held by funds rapidly grew to nearly 850,000 BTC.
In summary, the U.S. Department of Justice has transferred the seized Bitcoin from Silk Road to new addresses. This comes after the government’s previous sale of Bitcoin earlier this year. Despite the movement of BTC, its price has remained steady, and market sentiment has been positive as institutional interest in Bitcoin continues to grow.
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