US Government Transfers $2.1 Billion Worth of Seized Silk Road Bitcoin to Coinbase

The United States government has reportedly transferred 30,174 bitcoins, worth approximately $2.1 billion, to cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase. The bitcoins were seized from the infamous Silk Road darknet marketplace. The transaction, originating from a wallet tagged as belonging to the U.S. government, was spotted by blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence on Tuesday morning.

The U.S. government has yet to officially confirm this bitcoin transfer. The last confirmed bitcoin sale by the government took place in March 2023, when 9,861 bitcoins were sold for $216 million. If the recent transfer is verified, it would significantly surpass the previous sale in terms of scale.

In late 2022, the U.S. government seized around 50,000 bitcoins in connection with the Silk Road website investigation. Silk Road, a digital black market notorious for illegal drug trades and money laundering using bitcoin, is considered one of the biggest criminal cases in the cryptocurrency industry.

As of writing, the price of bitcoin is trading above $65,000. Despite recent volatility, expectations for a price surge are growing as the anticipated Bitcoin Halving event approaches later this month.