US Government Transfers 884 ETH and 97 BTC Raising Concerns of a Possible Sell-off

On March 28, 2025, the U.S. government transferred 884 Ethereum (ETH) valued at $1.77 million and 97 Bitcoin (BTC) worth about $8.46 million, raising concerns about a possible sell-off or deliberate accumulation of digital assets.

On March 28, 2025, the U.S. government executed a transfer of 884 Ethereum (ETH), valued at $1.77 million, and 97 Bitcoin (BTC) worth about $8.46 million. The transaction was discovered by blockchain analytics company Arkham Intelligence and reported on X by crypto tracking platform Lookonchain.

According to reports by Benzinga, the transfer was made at 5:51 PM EST from government-owned wallets to new addresses. As the company that discovered the transaction shared, a $10 portion of BTC was sent to the following address: bc1qs0qhmlzh2wvs0n70vn7s6jj37zvek2e7t73kfg. Meanwhile, the remaining $8.46 million was directed to a change wallet with the address: bc1q7qf075up5nkd6hejgkmr9ms0fal97w35asrs55.

Several concerns were raised by crypto enthusiasts and analysts, particularly regarding the timing of the transfer in the context of new federal cryptocurrency policies. It was noted that the transfer comes just days after former President Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 18. This order mandated the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and required all federal agencies to disclose their cryptocurrency holdings within 30 days.

As reported by CoinDesk last December, the price of bitcoin has previously experienced brief declines due to significant U.S. government transactions. For example, the price of Bitcoin dropped 5% over the three days in December 2024 when the government transferred $1.9 billion worth of Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime (NASDAQ:COIN).

Similar price reductions occurred in 2024 during the months of April, June, and August when the government made substantial transfers of bitcoin to Coinbase. However, Coinbase data indicates that this most recent transfer did not result in a notable change in price. Bitcoin and Ethereum both hovered around $87,200 and $2,000, respectively. Ethereum saw a downtrend and went to $1,995 (-0.25%) and Bitcoin briefly dropped to $87,150 (-0.097%) almost immediately after the transfer was announced by Arkham. However, both quickly recovered.

Despite engaging in frequent transfers of the assets, the crypto behemoth is a major holder of crypto. Based on available data, the U.S. government is estimated to possess 198,012 Bitcoin, valued at $17.22 billion, and 59,965 Ethereum, which is worth $119.7 million. A significant portion of these assets are believed to have been acquired from illegal activities, such as the Bitfinex hack in 2016.