U.S. Government Moves $2 Billion in Seized Silk Road Bitcoin

US Government Moves $2 Billion in Seized Silk Road Bitcoin

According to Arkham Intelligence, the US government transferred more than $2 billion worth of Bitcoin seized from the infamous Silk Road dark web marketplace to an unidentified wallet. As of now, it remains unclear whether the US plans to sell the recently transferred Bitcoin in the near future.

The transfer comes just two days after former President Donald Trump, currently the Republican candidate in this year’s presidential election, pledged to create a national “strategic Bitcoin stockpile” if elected at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville. Trump stressed that under his administration, the government would stop selling seized Bitcoin.

The market reacted quickly to the transfer news. The price of Bitcoin dropped more than 2% in an hour. After briefly reaching $70,000 per coin on Monday morning, the price of Bitcoin dropped to $66,000 and is down 4.6% in the last 24 hours. BTC has since recovered somewhat and is currently trading at $66,550.

Crypto entrepreneur and Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz criticized the timing of the move. The federal government frequently moves Bitcoin seized from criminals between wallets and custodians. While authorities have sold seized crypto in the past, such transfers do not always signal an intent to liquidate.