Bitcoin (BTC) drops amid U.S. Government’s $240M transfer to Coinbase
Bitcoin (BTC) fell back towards $60,000 on Wednesday after a wallet associated with the U.S. Government transferred approximately $240 million worth of seized BTC to a Coinbase Prime address. This move sparked concerns among traders that the digital assets might be sold.
According to an Arkham Intelligence social media post, around 3,940 bitcoin, originally seized from a Silk Road vendor, were moved by this wallet. “This BTC was originally seized from narcotics trafficker Banmeet Singh and forfeited at trial in January 2024,” the post stated.
The last significant movement by the government occurred in late 2022 when it seized roughly 50,000 bitcoin related to the Silk Road website. On April 2, it moved $2 billion worth of bitcoin, which also pressured digital markets at that time. The most recent confirmed sale by the government was in March 2023, when it sold 9,861 coins for $216 million.
BTC, which was attempting a modest recovery from its Mt. Gox-related decline earlier this week, slipped back below $61,000 as the news broke. It has since edged back to $61,100, down 1% over the past 24 hours. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index also dropped by about the same amount. Ether (ETH) declined 1.6% on the day as well.
