It’s not just degens and Wall Street tycoons benefiting from Bitcoin’s latest bull run—thanks to the token’s ongoing rally, the U.S. government is now sitting on a $12 billion BTC fortune.
In the last decade, the U.S. has seized tens of thousands of Bitcoin from several criminal enterprises, most notably the dark web marketplace Silk Road and the hackers who stole billions of dollars worth of digital assets from crypto exchange Bitfinex in 2016.
As of writing, the American government possesses over 194,000 Bitcoin, according to on-chain wallet data compiled by asset management firm 21.co on Dune.
That sum has appreciated significantly since Bitcoin’s price began climbing in the fall. In September, the U.S. government’s Bitcoin holdings were worth some $5 billion. At writing, thanks to the token’s phenomenal comeback, that same quantity of BTC is now worth $12.09 billion.
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You read that correctly: In a matter of months, without lifting a finger, the federal government has reaped over $7 billion in pure Bitcoin profit.
Despite the current, frosty state of the American government’s relationship with Bitcoin and cryptocurrency more broadly, the United States is unambiguously one of the largest BTC bag holders on Earth.
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All eyes were on the price of Bitcoin on Wednesday as the number-one cryptocurrency by market capitalization topped $63,636 before tumbling to $59,557. Even so, two months before the halving, Bitcoin is less than 12% below its all-time high of $69,044 from November 10, 2021. The distance Bitcoin needs to close before matching its all-time high continues to fluctuate; the last time Bitcoin ascended above $63,000 was April 12, 2021, according to CoinGecko. Image: CoinGecko Bitcoin’s rise to $60,00...
The nation’s government currently holds about 1% of all BTC currently in circulation. Only crypto exchange Binance and pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto appear to hold more.
At several points, the U.S. government has sold off small portions of its Bitcoin holdings. In January, it announced its intention to sell $117 million worth of BTC seized from a convicted drug trafficker who operated on Silk Road.
US Will Sell $117 Million in Bitcoin Seized From Silk Road Drug Trafficker
The United States has announced plans to sell about $117 million worth of Bitcoin seized from a convicted drug trafficker who operated on the now-shuttered Silk Road dark web marketplace. A forfeiture notice from earlier this month is now available online, with the government noting that it plans to "dispose" of the cryptocurrency. The notice follows sentencing earlier this month for 38-year-old Ryan Farace and his 72-year-old father Joseph Farace, both of Maryland, for the charge of money laund...
It remains unclear whether American officials in charge of the government’s crypto holdings are attempting to maximize the stash’s value by selling off at strategically opportune moments.
Yesterday, amid a market frenzy that saw Bitcoin’s price climb over 11% within hours, the U.S. government moved almost $1 billion worth of seized BTC associated with the Bitfinex hack to another wallet containing more funds, according to Arkham Intelligence.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
