On June 26th, the US government transferred 3,940 Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime, Coinbase's platform for institutional trading. This transaction was identified by blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence.

The Bitcoin that was transferred had been confiscated from Banmeet Singh, a convicted drug trafficker, earlier in 2024. 

Singh was arrested in London in 2019 on distribution charges and extradited to the United States in 2023.

Following his conviction, Singh forfeited over 8,100 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $150 million at the time, to U.S. authorities.

The recent transfer of nearly 4,000 Bitcoin represents a small portion of the government's total Bitcoin holdings. Currently, the U.S. government holds around 214,000 Bitcoin, valued at over $13 billion.

A large portion of the government's Bitcoin holdings comes from seizures related to the now-defunct dark web marketplace Silk Road, as well as the 2016 Bitfinex hack.

The transfer to Coinbase indicates that the government may be planning to sell some of its Bitcoin reserves, raising concerns about potential price impacts similar to the recent sell-off by the German government.

However, the amount moved so far is relatively minor compared to daily Bitcoin trading volumes. The U.S. government still retains the majority of its seized Bitcoin, now worth more due to Bitcoin's price increase.

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