The community is speculating if the US government is trying to sell Bitcoin (BTC) after a number of confirmed transactions totaling over 9,300 BTC emerged.
Over the years, the US government has seized Bitcoin from several criminals. In fact, it is often considered one of the biggest Bitcoin whales. But as the government holds a large supply, the slightest hint of selling sparks panic among community members.
US Government’s 9,300 Bitcoin Transaction
Around one hour before press time, the US government initiated transactions of over 9,318.7 BTC from two of its wallets. As of writing, the transactions are waiting for confirmation.
The government sent around 318.8 BTC from the wallet Bc1qmx and around 8,999.9 BTC from Bc1qe7. While two new wallets, 361yog and bc1qpg, received 8,200 and 1,118.7 BTC, respectively.
Receipt of US government’s Bitcoin transactions. Source: Blockchair
According to a CryptoQuant dashboard, Bc1qmx received around 50,000 BTC from the US Government’s James Zhong seizure. Zhong stole the amount from the illegal online marketplace Silk Road.
While Bc1qe7 received around 8,999 BTC from another government address on April 3, 2023.
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Will The Goverment Sell?
The movement of funds has led to a discussion if the government further plans to sell Bitcoin. In March, BeInCrypto reported that the US government wanted to sell 41,500 BTC from Silk Road. It already sold around 9,800 BTC on March 8, 2023.
Commenting on today’s movement of funds, a Twitter user, “Fabian D.” wrote:
“amounts sent are split between 2 destination addresses
thinking this makes it more likely to be movement of funds for reasons other than selling”
There was a similar chatter about the US government selling Bitcoin on June 21. But the on-chain analyst Ki Young Ju disputed the claims, citing mislabelling of wallets.
As yet, there has been little impact on BTC’s price. As of writing, the price has been up by around 0.64% in the past 24 hours.
Bitcoin price. Source: BeInCrypto
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For BeInCrypto’s latest Bitcoin (BTC) analysis, click here.