-
Some
$670
million
of
the
assets
was
forwarded
to
an
address
that
could
belong
to
an
institutional
custody
or
service,
Arkham
analysts
said. -
Bitcoin
dropped
nearly
5%
from
its
session
highs.
The
U.S.
government
moved
$2
billion
worth
of
seized
bitcoin
(BTC)
on
Monday,
tanking
already
retreating
prices
and
sparking
investor
concerns
of
selling
the
assets
just
two
days
after
presidential
hopeful
Donald
Trump’s
promise
to
begin
stacking
BTC.
Blockchain
data
by
Arkham
Intelligence
shows
that
a
wallet
tagged
as
“U.S.
Government:
Silk
Road
DOJ”
transferred
29,800
BTC
related
to
the
Silk
Road
website
to
an
unlabeled
address
with
no
prior
history
of
transactions.
Then,
the
address
forwarded
19,800
BTC
and
10,000
BTC
to
two
different
addresses.
Arkham
analysts
suspected
that
the
10,000
BTC
transfer
worth
$670
million
was
a
deposit
to
an
institutional
custody
or
service.
Prior
movements
often
foreshadowed
impending
asset
sales.
BTC
tumbled
below
$67,000
following
the
transfer,
extending
its
decline
from
the
$70,000
session
high
earlier
today.
At
press
time,
bitcoin
was
changing
hands
at
$66,700,
down
1.6%
over
the
past
24
hours.
The
broader
CoinDesk
20
Index
was
flat
over
the
same
time
period.
Though
not
necessarily
related,
the
government’s
move
this
morning
followed
Donald
Trump’s
weekend
promise
at
the
Bitcoin
2024
conference
in
Nashville
to
create
a
“strategic
national
bitcoin
stockpile”
if
elected.
Read
more:
Trump
Says
Democrats
Winning
Election
Will
Be
Disaster
for
Crypto:
‘Every
One
of
You
Will
Be
Gone’
Prior
to
the
transfer,
the
U.S.
government
held
$12
billion
worth
of
seized
bitcoin,
according
to
Arkham’s
data.
UPDATE
(July
29,
17:36
UTC):
Adds
Arkham’s
update
about
new
bitcoin
transfer.