The United States government has become one of the largest holders of bitcoin (btc), holding over 200,000 btc worth over $5 billion despite selling a few thousand btc worth millions to early this year.
According to a data analysis based on public filings, crypto company 21.co estimated that the US government still holds 194,188 btc, with an estimated value of $5.3 billion. The firm noted in its analysis that these are “lower-bound estimates of US government holdings based on publicly available information.”
The analysis tracked the movement of bitcoin from US government wallets associated with the three largest btc seizures since 2020, namely the Silk Road seizure of 69,369 btc In November 2020, the Bitfinex Hack seizure of 94,643 btc in January 2022, and James Zhong’s seizure of 51,326 btc in March 2022.
The government’s bitcoin stash is kept primarily offline in encrypted storage devices known as hardware wallets that report to the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service. The United States government made two major seizures in 2022.
Related: US Government Plans to Sell 41,000 bitcoin Connected to Silk Road
Seized assets do not instantly belong to the government. The US Marshals Service, the lead agency tasked with selling seized property, only receives possession of seized bitcoin after a court issues a final forfeiture judgment.
The US government also sells a portion of seized bitcoin from time to time through an auction system based on court liquidation orders. The most notable government auction dates back to 2014, when billionaire Tim Draper bought 30,000 btc at US government auctions in 2014.
However, in recent years, the US government has turned to crypto exchanges to sell seized bitcoin at public auctions. One such sale occurred in March earlier this year, when the government sold 9,118 btc on Coinbase, as confirmed through a public filing.
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