According to data from Arkham Intelligence, a U.S. government-controlled cryptocurrency wallet recently transferred approximately 3,940 Bitcoin (BTC), worth $241 million, to Coinbase. The wallet currently holds approximately $13.3 billion worth of Bitcoin.
Source: Arkham Intelligence
The wallet’s Bitcoin stash was linked to the seizure of Bitcoin from Silk Road, a notorious online marketplace on the dark web that trafficked in drugs, weapons, and other illegal goods. Silk Road was closed in 2013.
In early April, the government allegedly transferred 30,175 BTC, worth about $2 billion, from the same wallet to Coinbase.
The transaction was transferred in three batches, starting with a small test transfer of 0.001 BTC (65 USD) to a Coinbase Prime deposit address, followed by a transfer of 1,999 BTC (about 130 million USD) to Coinbase. The remaining 28,176 BTC were sent to another government-controlled wallet, possibly as part of a planned sale.
Bitcoin’s bearish price momentum, which has been building since earlier this week, could be exacerbated by recent large-scale remittance transactions.
Source: TradingView
On Monday, the trustee of the defunct exchange Mt. Gox said they would started a debt repayment plan of 9.2 billion USD in the next month. Victims will receive payments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, potentially increasing selling pressure in the market.
The pressure is mounting after German government transfers 400 BTC to Coinbase and Kraken yesterday, with an additional 500 BTC transferred to an untagged address.
Those moves have drawn significant attention from the cryptocurrency community, with speculation about the government’s strategy for managing and selling its Bitcoin holdings.
Bitcoin fell slightly by 1.5% after the latest move, hitting a low of $60,800 before recovering above $61,000.
Annie
According to Cryptobriefing
