Recently, the U.S. government transferred approximately $1.9 billion worth of Bitcoin seized from the Silk Road black market case to the institutional service platform Coinbase Prime of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. This move has attracted market attention.
According to data from blockchain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence, on December 2, a wallet associated with the U.S. government transferred about 19,800 Bitcoins (valued at $1.9 billion at the time) to a deposit address on Coinbase Prime. These Bitcoins originated from the investigation of James Zhong in 2021, who was convicted of telecom fraud related to the Silk Road market.
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The U.S. Department of Justice announced in 2022 that it had seized over 50,000 Bitcoins from Zhong, some of which were stored in &#34;a single-board computer buried under a blanket in a popcorn can.&#34; The government subsequently transferred many Bitcoins to different wallets, but as of the time of writing, it still holds about $18 billion worth of Bitcoins.
Silk Road was a notorious dark web marketplace that facilitated millions of dollars in cryptocurrency transactions, allowing users to purchase illegal items such as weapons, drugs, and stolen credit card information. The platform's founder, Ross Ulbricht, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2015. Since the 2024 U.S. election, many in the cryptocurrency industry have called for Trump to reduce Ulbricht's sentence.
Yesterday, Bitcoin briefly fell below $95,000 during trading, dropping about 2% intraday, but has since rebounded to near the $96,000 mark.
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It is currently unclear whether this transfer is part of the authorities' strategy to trade or sell these funds. Some U.S. lawmakers, including Senator Cynthia Lummis and incoming President Trump, have suggested establishing a &#34;strategic Bitcoin reserve&#34; in the U.S. through legislation.
Notably, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (the federal agency responsible for seizing cryptocurrencies and other assets related to criminal activities) stated in July this year that it would collaborate with Coinbase Prime to custody tokens related to asset seizures. However, Coinbase is still facing a civil lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June 2023

COIN

On December 2nd, a wallet associated with the U.S. government transferred approximately 19,800 bitcoins (worth $1.9 billion at the time) to a deposit address on Coinbase Prime, with these bitcoins originating from the "proceeds" of the investigation into James Zhong in 2021

- The U.S. government recently transferred approximately 1.9 billion dollars' worth of Bitcoin, seized from the Silk Road case, to Coinbase Prime.  
- This transfer involved about 19,800 Bitcoins linked to a government wallet, originating from the 2021 investigation of James Zhong, who was convicted of telecom fraud related to Silk Road.  
- The move has raised market speculation regarding the government's strategy for these assets, especially as Bitcoin prices fluctuated around 96,000 dollars following the transfer.

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