US Government Moves 10,000 Bitcoin From Silk Road Bust, Here’s The Destination

The
United
States
(US)
government
has
recently
moved
a
whopping
10,000
Bitcoin
(BTC)
seized
from

Silk
Road,
a
notorious
online
black
market
platform.
Over
the
years,
the
government
has

executed
multiple
large-scale
Bitcoin
transfers,
strategically
relocating
these
assets
to
new
wallets
or
different
exchanges. 

US
Government
Moves
10,000
BTC
To
Coinbase
Prime

In
an
X
(formerly
Twitter)

post

on
August
14,
Arkham
Intelligence,
a
blockchain
analytics
platform
uncovered
a
new
Bitcoin
transfer
conducted
by
the
US
government.
According
to
Arkham’s
reports,
the
government
had
transferred
10,000
BTC,
valued
at
$593.5
million,
from
its
cache
of
assets
seized
during
the

take
down
of
Silk
Road. 

This

massive
Bitcoin
transfer

has
effectively
caught
the
attention
of
the
crypto
community,
sparking

speculation

about
its
destination
and
the
potential
impact
on
the
already
struggling
market. 

In
November
2021,
the
US
government
had

seized
over
50,000
BTC

from
the
Silk
Road
Dark
web
internet
marketplace.
At
the
time,
the
total
value
of
the
confiscated
Bitcoin
was
worth
approximately
$3.36
billion. 

Arkham
Intelligence
has
revealed
that
the
wallet
address,
bc1ql,
received
the
10,000
Silk
Road
BTC
from
a
crypto
wallet
said
to
be
associated
with
the
US
government.
This
substantial
BTC
was
then
directed
to
33J,
a
Coinbase
Prine
deposit
wallet. 

Considering
the
large
amount
BTC
involved
in
the
government’s
latest
transfer,
many
crypto
community
members
have

questioned

whether
the

government
intends
to
sell
off
Bitcoin.
A
potential
sale
could
have
a
drastic
effect
on
the
crypto
market,
which
is
still
recovering
from

major
crashes
in
Bitcoin,
Ethereum

and
other
leading
cryptocurrencies. 

Although
deposits
to
a
crypto
exchange
often
suggest
an
intention
to
sell
off
a
crypto
asset,
in
this
case,
the
government
may
have
moved
the
10,000
BTC
for
custody
reasons.
To
provide
more
context,
on
July
1,
the
US
Marshals
Service,
a
division
of
the
US
Department
of
Justice
(DOJ)

selected
Coinbase
Prime

as
its
partner
to
provide
custody
and
advanced
trading
service
for
large-cap
digital
assets. 

Bitcoin
Price
Falls
Below
$59,000

Following
news
of
the
US
government’s
large-scale
Silk
Road
BTC
transfer,
the
price
of
Bitcoin
fell
significantly.
According
to
CoinMarketCap’s
data,
Bitcoin
is
presently
trading
sideways,
falling
below
the
$59,000
price
mark. 

Over
the
past
few
weeks,
Bitcoin’s
price
has
been
on
a
notable

downward
trend,
experiencing
major
price
swings
as
it
attempts
to
maintain
a
foothold

above
$60,000.
At
one
point,
the
cryptocurrency
crashed
by
more
than
20%,
largely
due
to
widespread
liquidations
and
massive

sell-offs
from
whales

and
the

German
government. 

With

speculation

mounting
about
a
potential
BTC
sell-off
by
the
US
government,
Bitcoin’s
price
could
face
increased
volatility
and
further
declines.
As
of
writing,
the
cryptocurrency
is
trading
at
$58,321,
marking
a
substantial
4.11%
decline
in
the
last
24
hours. 

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