US Government Sells $2 Billion Worth of Bitcoin Amidst Market Fluctuations

The US government has moved 30,175 Bitcoin (BTC) worth an estimated $2 billion, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. The transfer comes after the government's last confirmed sale in March 2023 when it sold 9,861 bitcoins for $216 million. The move has had an immediate impact on the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin dipping below $65,000 following the announcement.

U.S. Government Transfers $2 Billion Worth of Bitcoin Amid Market Volatility

In a significant transaction that sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency market, a wallet associated with the United States government transferred 30,175 Bitcoin (BTC) on Tuesday morning. The move marks the government's largest single sale of Bitcoin to date.

According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, 2,000 of the transferred Bitcoin were sent to a wallet belonging to cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN), while the remaining coins were transferred to a wallet identified as belonging to the government.

The total value of the moved coins, based on the current price of Bitcoin at approximately $65,000, is estimated to be roughly $2 billion. This transaction follows the government's last confirmed sale in March 2023, when it sold 9,861 bitcoins for $216 million.

The sale of the bitcoins, which were part of the approximately 50,000 coins seized by the government in late 2022 from the infamous Silk Road website, has had an immediate impact on the cryptocurrency market.

Bitcoin, which had been experiencing a downward trend, dipped further below $65,000 following the news of the government's sale. However, it has since slightly recovered and is currently trading at $65,200, marking a 4.7% decrease over the past 24 hours.

The events follow a recent surge in Bitcoin's price, which earlier this month soared past $71,000 for the first time in history. The rally was partly driven by the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority's approval of cryptocurrency exchange-traded notes (ETNs) for trading.

The recent upwards trend in Bitcoin's price follows the U.S.'s approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) back in January, which propelled the cryptocurrency to breach the $70,000 mark last week for the first time. Similarly, Ethereum (ETH) surpassed the $4,000 milestone on Monday.

Despite the recent setback, companies are continuing to explore the potential of cryptocurrencies. At the end of March, Nasdaq-traded spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) witnessed an inflow of $15.4 million, marking a positive shift after five consecutive days of outflows, according to preliminary figures from investment company Farside.

The previous week was challenging for these ETFs, with a total outflow of $887.6 million, primarily due to significant withdrawals from GBTC.