In the early hours of the US, Arkham Intelligence reported that the US government had transferred more than $90 million worth of bitcoin and ethereum, previously seized from two Estonian nationals involved in a vast cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering scheme. money. This move caught the attention of the cryptocurrency community, just days after the transfer of approximately $2 billion in bitcoin related to the infamous Silk Road market.
Arkham Intel, using its advanced tracking technology, noted that just two hours ago, the US government executed multiple transactions related to seized digital assets. These included the transfer of 0.69 btc, worth around $45,750, and another 374 btc, valued at around $24.8 million, to a newly identified bitcoin address (3GoRwyQvAJhX3conyuq355JiBD9FyfXAQe).
Additionally, 218.5 btc, worth $14.49 million, also moved to the same address, along with 4,567K eth, which is equivalent to $15.21 million. Just a few minutes before press time, another 0.0001 btc and 0.5 btc were moved to another new address (3LNW8R3AfDQgVCB9sQPwChyG47ktSjh3f3).
Both bitcoin and ethereum addresses are new and previously unknown to Arkham, suggesting strategic consolidation rather than an immediate liquidation of assets.
The seized funds come from Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, two Estonians arrested in their home country in October 2022 following an 18-count indictment returned by a grand jury in the Western District of Washington.
The duo were implicated in orchestrating a $575 million cryptocurrency fraud through their companies, HashFlare, a cryptocurrency mining service, and Polybius Bank, a virtual currency bank that never existed or returned dividends promised to the investors. Their elaborate scheme not only involved fraudulent equipment rental contracts, but also used shell companies to launder profits to purchase real estate and luxury vehicles.
In September last year, the Estonian government approved the extradition of Potapenko and Turõgin to the United States. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas then revealed that the decision had been made at a government level.
Today's US government transactions follow a precedent set by the Silk Road bitcoin movement. Notably, 2,000 btc from the Silk Road tour were transferred to a Coinbase wallet, while the rest were relocated to a wallet identified by Arkham as belonging to the government.
This pattern indicates a systematic approach by the US government to handling seized digital assets, focusing on consolidation before any potential future action.
As the cryptocurrency market observed these developments, the price of bitcoin remained stable, hovering around $66,000. The significant amount of funds involved and the government's handling of such assets remain a point of interest for both investors and observers within the crypto space.
Contrary to common belief, it is important to note that the US government does not typically sell bitcoin or Ether on the open market. “The FUD on Silk Road US Government Coins is literally just FUD. The government does not impose market sales on public order books. If it is already being sold or will be sold OTC/auction,” said crypto analyst Byzantine General. twitter.com/ByzGeneral/status/1775238613250326992″ target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>noted Two days ago.
At the time of publication, btc was trading at $66,311.
Featured image created with DALL·E, chart from TradingView.com
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