Onchain data from Arkham suggests that the US government has transferred another batch of Bitcoin to Coinbase’s institutional trading platform, raising concerns that another Bitcoin selloff is imminent.
The data revealed the Bitcoins were assets seized from Banmeet Singh, a convicted drug trafficker who pleaded guilty to money laundering early this year. The bitcoins transferred were worth $241 million at press time.
At 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, 3,940 BTC, or about $241 million, was sent to Coinbase Prime from a wallet linked to the US government. The government is also one of the largest Bitcoin holders today, holding a balance of $13.3 billion in the cryptocurrency, most of it in Bitcoin.
Note that the US government wallets deposited 3,940 BTC ($241.2 million) into Coinbase Prime 5 minutes ago.
The US government currently holds 213,546 BTC ($13.07B). pic.twitter.com/CAc87E2xFa
Lookonchain (@lookonchain) June 26, 2024
The US government tops Bitcoin holdings, followed by China and the UK, holding 190,000 BTC and 61,000 BTC, respectively.
El Salvador, Germany, and eleven other governments collectively own Bitcoin, representing 2.7% of the 21 million total Bitcoin supply.
The announcement came just hours after the German government seized 750 bitcoins, 250 of which were transferred to Kraken and Bitstamp.
According to Casa co-founder Jameson Lopp, the US government has reportedly seized and sold at least 195,091 bitcoins. This includes assets gained through US Marshals declarations, Silk Road auctions, and other sources.
Bitcoins confiscated in the Banmeet Singh case
On April 19, dark web trader Banmeet Singh was convicted of distributing drugs online and sentenced to five years in prison. Customers reportedly used cryptocurrency to pay for drugs they ordered from Singh through vendor websites.
The Singh criminal gang eventually transferred millions of dollars worth of drug revenue into cryptocurrency accounts, making them worth around $150 million.
The incident was reported to be the largest cryptocurrency seizure ever made by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
According to the Columbus Dispatch, Singh was in custody for just a week short of his five-year sentence. During his sentence, he reportedly handed over 4,000 bitcoin units.
The recent government sell-off has raised concerns about a drop in Bitcoin prices. However, after the US government sell-off on Wednesday, Bitcoin’s price rally could not sustain itself.
The globe’s largest cryptocurrency fell 1.4% in the past day and is now trading at $60,730 at the time of writing.
