BREAKING: US Government Plans to Sell $2 Billion in Confiscated Silk Road Bitcoin

Amidst the recent Bitcoin price crash, the US government has initiated transactions through its accounts, suggesting preparations for offloading seized Bitcoin from the defunct Silk Road website. Blockchain analytics reveal test transactions with Coinbase totaling $131 million and the transfer of 2,000 Bitcoin to the platform from government-linked addresses. Market observers closely monitor these activities as government Bitcoin sales could impact cryptocurrency prices.

U.S. Government Prepares to Sell Confiscated Silk Road Bitcoin

April 5, 2023

Yerevan, Armenia - The United States government, which seized approximately $2 billion worth of Bitcoin from the defunct online black market, Silk Road, has initiated a series of transactions indicating its intention to potentially sell these assets.

On Tuesday, blockchain analytics firms observed multiple transactions from a digital wallet linked to the U.S. government. The initial transaction consisted of a small transfer of approximately $65 to a Coinbase Prime deposit address. This was followed by transfers totaling $131 million, a significant portion of which was subsequently shifted to other government-linked addresses.

Parker Merritt, a solutions engineer at Coin Metrics, believes the $65 transaction served as a test run. "They sent a small amount to Coinbase Prime and then credited the bulk of the funds back to government-linked addresses as 'change output,'" he explained. "It's likely they'll move a larger amount, maybe even the entire sum, to Coinbase Prime next, now that they've verified the test transaction reached its intended target."

According to Flipside Crypto, multiple government-linked addresses pooled together and transferred approximately 2,000 Bitcoin to Coinbase. Digital wallets are typically anonymous, making it difficult to ascertain the true origin and destination of these funds.

Market observers have been closely monitoring the Bitcoin addresses controlled by the U.S. government, as any sales from these accounts could potentially impact the cryptocurrency's price. In the past, the government has sold portions of its Silk Road Bitcoin collection through auctions and other methods. The account involved in Tuesday's transactions initially held 30,174 Bitcoin.

The Silk Road, a notorious online marketplace, facilitated the sale of illicit substances, counterfeit documents, and other illegal items using Bitcoin as a payment method. In 2013, federal agents shut down the website and seized Bitcoin valued at $3.6 million. The value of these assets has since skyrocketed, partly due to recent surges in the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin's price has surged by over 50% so far this year.

From 2011 to 2013, the Silk Road was operated by Ross William Ulbricht, known by the alias "Dread Pirate Roberts." Ulbricht earned approximately $80 million in commissions from the website, all through Bitcoin transactions. In 2015, a federal jury in New York found Ulbricht guilty on seven criminal charges, including distributing narcotics and money laundering. He is currently serving a life sentence.