Silk Road Bitcoin Worth $2B Moved by U.S. Government: On-Chain Data (2024)

FAQs

Did the US government transfer 30174 #bitcoin worth $2.1 billion seized from Silk Road to Coinbase? ›

The US government has transferred 30,174 Bitcoin worth $2.1 billion seized from Silk Road to Coinbase. A wallet tagged as belonging to the U.S. government was observed making the transfer Tuesday morning.

The government is the owner of about $12 billion worth of seized bitcoin, according to Arkham Intelligence. Some $670 million of the assets was forwarded to an address that could belong to an institutional custody or service, Arkham analysts said. Bitcoin dropped nearly 5% from its session highs.

The US government is reportedly sitting on upwards of 210,000 bitcoin—worth around $14 billion—seized from hackers and through various law enforcement activity. That stash, said Trump, would become “the core of the strategic national bitcoin stockpile.”

Bitcoin is now down about 25% from its March record, as the buzz around US exchange-traded funds investing directly in the token gives way to fears of higher-for-longer interest rates and political uncertainty.

Cryptocurrency is not legal tender and is not backed by the government. Coinbase is not an FDIC-insured bank and cryptocurrency is not insured or guaranteed by or subject to the protections of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”), and may lose value.

Backing a currency is done by the currency's issuer to ensure its value. Bitcoin, gold, and fiat currencies are not backed by any other asset. Bitcoin has value despite no backing because it has properties of sound money.

Known Bitcoin reserves held by governments account for 2.7% of the total 21 million supply of bitcoins, with the largest being the US Government with over 210,000 bitcoins worth more than $13bn at the time of writing.

As Bitcoin is decentralised, the network as such cannot be shut down by one government. However, governments have attempted to ban cryptocurrencies before, or at least to restrict their use in their respective jurisdiction. Governments could still try to jointly ban Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrency awareness and ownership rates have increased to record levels: 40% of American adults now own crypto, up from 30% in 2023. This could be as many as 93 million people. Among current crypto owners, around 63% hope to obtain more cryptocurrency over the next year.

So, who are the top holders of BTC? According to the Bitcoin research and analysis firm River Intelligence, Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator behind Bitcoin, is listed as the top BTC holder as of 2024. The company notes that Satoshi Nakamoto holds about 1.1m BTC tokens in about 22,000 different addresses.

Is Bitcoin considered money in the US? ›

For tax purposes, Bitcoin is usually treated as property rather than currency.

Is bitcoin or cryptocurrency a good investment? Bitcoin tends to be incredibly volatile compared to other investment options, experiencing significant run-ups in value, followed by quick decreases in value. Despite a recent resurgence, bitcoin has lost nearly half its value after reaching all-time highs in late 2021.

Risk-off sentiment pulls the crypto market down

The crypto market is selling off, mirroring the weakness witnessed in US equities. The US stock market has lost a staggering $1.1 trillion in valuation over the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin prices are up 61.1% year-to-date in 2024, putting the cryptocurrency on track for its second consecutive year of sizable gains. Ethereum prices are also up 41.8% in 2024.

As of the latest available information in 2024, the United States is considered to be the country that owns the most Bitcoin — according to various reports, it holds over 210K BTC. This accumulation is primarily due to legal seizures rather than direct purchases. US government owns over 210K BTC as of 2024.

The first Bitcoin halving occurred when the block reward was reduced from 50 Bitcoins per block to 25 Bitcoins. This event marked the beginning of Bitcoin's journey as a deflationary asset. The second halving further reduced the block reward from 25 BTC to 12.5 BTC per block.

How Does Bitcoin Make Money? Miners on the Bitcoin network can be rewarded by successfully opening blocks. Bitcoins are exchangeable for fiat currency via cryptocurrency exchanges. Investors and speculators can make money from trading bitcoins.