US Government Moves $600M in Bitcoin

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According to data gathered by Arkham Intelligence, the US government transferred 10,000 seized Bitcoin (BTC) related to Silk Road to Coinbase Prime, the institutional platform of the popular exchange, on Wednesday.

The BTC worth approximately $600 million was received by a crypto wallet two weeks ago, and was originally tagged as “US Government: Silk Road DOJ Confiscated Funds.”

While such a transfer could typically indicate a plan to sell the assets, it is possible that this move was made for custody purposes.

Last month, the US Marshals Service, a division of the Department of Justice (DOJ), announced a partnership with Coinbase Prime to “safeguard and trade” large-cap digital assets.

However, the details of what happens to the tokens upon landing on a centralized platform like Coinbase Prime are not publicly known.

During the day, the price of Bitcoin dropped from $61,000 to $59,000, but it is unclear if this was influenced by the transaction. It is worth noting that this transfer was announced by the DOJ in 2022, when they seized over 50,000 BTC and arrested James Zhong for wire fraud.