“On June 26th, the US government transferred 3,940 Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime, the institutional trading platform of Coinbase, as reported by blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence.
The Bitcoin in question had been confiscated earlier in 2024 from Banmeet Singh, a convicted drug trafficker arrested in London in 2019 and subsequently extradited to the US in 2023. Singh’s forfeiture of over 8,100 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $150 million at the time, was part of his conviction.
While the recent transfer of nearly 4,000 Bitcoin is significant, it represents only a fraction of the US government’s total Bitcoin holdings. Current data indicates the government possesses approximately 214,000 Bitcoin, valued at over $13 billion, making it the largest national holder of Bitcoin worldwide.
Much of the government’s Bitcoin holdings originated from seizures linked to operations like the Silk Road dark web marketplace and the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
The decision to transfer Bitcoin to Coinbase suggests a potential strategy to liquidate some of its long-held reserves. This move has raised concerns about market impacts akin to recent sell-offs by other national entities like the German government.
Nevertheless, the volume transferred remains relatively small compared to daily Bitcoin trading volumes. The US government retains the majority of its seized Bitcoin, now significantly appreciating in value due to Bitcoin’s substantial price escalation.”