US Gov Moves 10,000 Silk Road BTC Worth Over Half a Billion to Coinbase Prime

The US Government is the latest nation-state to make a crypto move with a US$590 million (AU$895 mn) transfer.  According to Arkham, that amount is what the 10,000 Bitcoin involved in the transfer are worth. The report says the funds, received into a known government wallet just two weeks ago, have been moved to a Coinbase Prime deposit wallet.

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The news comes just a day after Arkham reported that a Bitcoin wallet believed to be linked to BitGo received about US$2.19 billion (AU$3.3 bn) from a wallet associated with the defunct Mt. Gox exchange. Shortly after, approximately US$1.96 billion (AU$2.95 bn) was transferred from this wallet to another that began conducting test transactions.

It’s likely that the US Department of Justice, holding over US$12 billion (AU$18.2 bn) in seized BTC, is moving assets to Coinbase Prime primarily for custody.

These transfers, which follow a partnership to manage large-cap digital assets, include the 10,000 BTC from Silk Road confiscations and are not necessarily aimed at immediate liquidation. Amid Bitcoin’s price fluctuations, it remains unclear whether the DOJ has immediate plans to sell, though the potential for future sales exists as part of ongoing asset management.

Bitcoin Drops Below US$59K As Market Goes “Boring”

Meanwhile, BTC has dropped by almost 3% in the past 24 hours, going from a US$61,679 (AU$93,191) peak to currently US$58,928 (AU$89,034). Data from Coinglass shows that 37,155 traders have been liquidated with a total of US$121.46 million (AU$184.61 million) in liquidations.

The news of the US government may have spooked the market, which is interesting because the macro-outlook is rather positive.

Related: Data Shows More Than 1 Million Bitcoin Addresses Now Hold 1+ BTC Amid Institutions Loading Up

As analyst Michaël van de Poppe has posted on platform X, US CPI data came in positive. This means the “likelihood of a rate cut is approaching for the FED”, which according to the analyst, suggests increased liquidity and more upside potential for Bitcoin.

Fellow analyst Miles Deutscher is not so sure about a market upswing right now, saying the overall sentiment is mixed and he believes that “things are getting boooooooring”.