Key Takeaways
- The U.S. Government moved $240 million worth of seized BTC to Coinbase.
- The bitcoin was originally seized from narcotics trafficker Banmeet Singh.
- Bitcoin fell below $61,000 following the news, down 1% in the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin dropped towards $60,000 on Wednesday as traders reacted to the U.S. Government transferring approximately $240 million worth of seized BTC to a Coinbase Prime address.
This move, sparking fears of a potential sale, contributed to the market downturn.
The 3,940 bitcoin, originally seized from narcotics trafficker Banmeet Singh and forfeited at his trial in January 2024, were moved according to Arkham Intelligence. The Arkham Intelligence post stated:
This BTC was originally seized from narcotics trafficker Banmeet Singh, and forfeited at trial in January 2024.
The government’s previous significant movement of seized bitcoin occurred in late 2022 when roughly 50,000 bitcoin tied to the Silk Road website were confiscated.
On April 2, 2023, the government moved $2 billion worth of bitcoin, which also pressured the market. The last confirmed sale was in March 2023, when 9,861 coins were sold for $216 million.
Bitcoin had attempted to recover from an earlier decline related to Mt. Gox, but slipped below $61,000 following the news. It later edged back to $61,100, down 1% over the past 24 hours. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index also fell by a similar margin, with Ether dropping 1.6% on the day.
