Key facts: Federal authorities added more than 5,000 BTC, since the beginning of 2023. Selling a percentage of their bitcoins would shake the market. The accumulation of bitcoin (BTC) by the US government has continued to rise, to the point of adding at least 5,000 new units of the digital currency since the beginning of 2023. This trend shows that The North American country has a great interest in bitcoin, although a portion of their holdings are the product of confiscations from illegal actors operating on the dark web, as well as from hackers dedicated to ransomware or data kidnapping. It was previously known that the federal authorities of The United States has the largest bitcoin wallets in the world. This, only including those that are under the control of governments. However, in its latest revelation, the on-chain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence pointed out that a new wallet with 3,940 bitcoins belongs to the US federal authorities. With this, it is clear that the government currently holds 216,788 BTC and not the 194,188 bitcoins it had in October last year, as BitcoinDynamic reported at the time. The newly detected wallet and the BTC it holds, valued at $251 million, were confiscated from Banmeet Singh, a man accused of drug trafficking during a trial in January this year. In such a way that the government of The United States continues to hold more BTC than MicroStrategy, the publicly traded company with the most bitcoin in the world, which currently owns 214,278 units of the pioneering digital currency. They are followed by the United Kingdom and Germany. In addition to El Salvador which has a comparatively smaller amount of BTC.
The United States not only has bitcoin in its portfolio, but also has other crypto assets such as ether and USDT. Source: Arkham Intelligence.
A force to always keep in mind
As the United States government emerges as one of the great bitcoin whales of the ecosystem, it also emerges as a relevant actor to always keep in mind, considering that, with a movement, such as the sale of a part of its assets, it could impact in the market. If the United States decided to sell its more than 200,000 bitcoins, it would likely have a significant impact on the price and volatility of bitcoin. A sell-off of its holdings could lead to a drop in the price of the digital currency as supply would increase significantly relative to demand. Furthermore, the sale of a large amount of bitcoins by the United States could set off a chain reaction as other investors They could see this as a sign that the market is about to fall and decide to also sell their holdings, causing a downward spiral in the price of bitcoin. On the other hand, if the United States decided to sell its bitcoin holdings gradually and strategically, this could have a less negative impact on the market, as it would allow for better absorption of supply by demand. In any case, an actor like the United States will always have to be kept in mind, given the amount of bitcoin it owns.
A round business
By appropriating the funds handled by cryptocurrency-related crime, the United States government amasses a fortune. With more BTC in your possession and with the price appreciation of the pioneering cryptocurrency, it means that The confiscation of bitcoin yields an unexpected profit, or not, to the State,
Apparently The government now holds more bitcoin than it seizes since I would have noticed that it was a way to obtain greater profits. Regarding this, it is important to keep in mind that institutions do not usually record or show all seizures made, but rather select some of them. An example of this is the site shown on the Forfeiture.gov site, which documents some of the administrative, civil and criminal actions involving forfeitures by the United States Department of Justice. The reports are also not archived online and no paper copies are made. Furthermore, the bitcoin addresses that link the wallets to the owners are also not available, making the situation even more confusing and making it clear that the government is not as transparent about its bitcoin holdings as it asks its citizens to do. citizens.