U.S. Government Wallet Transfers $2 Billion in Bitcoin to Unidentified Wallet
The U.S. government made a significant move in the world of cryptocurrency on Monday, as a wallet labeled as belonging to the government transferred a whopping $2 billion worth of bitcoin to an unidentified wallet. According to data from Arkham Intelligence, nearly 28,000 BTC was transferred in what appears to be tied to funds previously confiscated from the dark web market Silk Road by the U.S. Department of Justice.
This transfer comes after a U.S. appeals court finalized the forfeiture of over 69,000 bitcoin and other crypto assets connected to Silk Road late last year. Following the transfer, the U.S. government split the bitcoin into two separate addresses, allocating $1.3 billion to one address and $670 million to another, as reported by Arkham Intelligence.
“We believe this represents a 10,000 BTC deposit to an institutional custody/service,” said the data services firm.
This is not the first time the U.S. government has made moves in the crypto space, as a U.S. government crypto wallet previously sent nearly 2,000 BTC to a Coinbase Prime hot wallet in April. The U.S. Marshals Service also announced a $32.5 million payment to Coinbase for custodial services.
The DOJ seized the Silk Road-associated bitcoin in 2020 and has since been seeking the official forfeiture of the crypto assets. According to Arkham Intelligence, the U.S. government’s crypto portfolio still holds over $12 billion in bitcoin.
In a surprising turn of events, former U.S. President Donald Trump expressed willingness to commute Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht’s sentence if re-elected president over the weekend.
The cryptocurrency community is closely watching these developments as the U.S. government continues to make significant moves in the crypto space.
