{"id":19149,"date":"2023-03-26T18:05:18","date_gmt":"2023-03-26T18:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/us-government-remains-a-top-bitcoin-holder-with-seized-stash-valued-at-5-6-billion-bitcoin-news\/"},"modified":"2023-03-26T18:05:18","modified_gmt":"2023-03-26T18:05:18","slug":"us-government-remains-a-top-bitcoin-holder-with-seized-stash-valued-at-5-6-billion-bitcoin-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/us-government-remains-a-top-bitcoin-holder-with-seized-stash-valued-at-5-6-billion-bitcoin-news\/","title":{"rendered":"US Government Remains a Top Bitcoin Holder With Seized Stash Valued at $5.6 Billion \u2013 Bitcoin News"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b>
\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/header>\n
\n\n<\/div>\n

As of March 25, 2023, the U.S. government held 205,515 bitcoins worth $5.6 billion, which is approximately 1.06% of the circulating supply, according to current statistics. The cache of bitcoins is a result of three forfeitures that began in 2020. Glassnode\u2019s on-chain data reveals that on March 9, about 9,860 bitcoins worth roughly $269 million were sent to a Coinbase address.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Uncle Sam\u2019s Crypto Stash: How the U.S. Government Became a Top Bitcoin Holder<\/h2>\n

The U.S. government currently holds 205,515 bitcoins valued at $5.66 billion based on today\u2019s exchange rates. The bitcoins were confiscated in three cases, including the Silk Road bitcoin seizure<\/a> in November 2020, the 2022 Bitfinex hack confiscation<\/a>, and the seizure<\/a> of bitcoins from James Zhong last year. Of the total, 69,369 BTC<\/a> was seized from \u201cIndividual X,\u201d 94,643 BTC<\/a> was taken from Ilya Lichtenstein<\/a> and his wife Heather Morgan<\/a>, and 51,326 BTC<\/a> was seized from Zhong in November 2022.<\/p>\n

According to a report<\/a> from Glassnode on March 9, 2023, some of these bitcoins have moved, reducing the total from 215,338 to 205,515 BTC<\/a>. \u201cApproximately [40,000 bitcoins] from wallets associated with U.S. Government law enforcement seizures are on the move,\u201d Glassnode reported. \u201cThe majority of these appear to be internal transfers (so far). However, around 9,861 [bitcoin] seized from the Silk Road hacker have been sent to our Coinbase cluster.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Screenshot from Glassnode on March 9, 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The current estimate of 205,515 bitcoins (BTC<\/a>) comes from a Dune Analytics set of metrics<\/a> created by 21Shares, an exchange-traded product provider. The data shows the U.S. government\u2019s addresses and transaction history. Of the current seized cache of BTC<\/a>, 44% came from the Bitfinex forfeiture, 32.2% from \u201cIndividual X,\u201d and 23.8% from the Zhong seizure. Additionally, the U.S. government may possess more bitcoins than what is tallied up in 21Shares\u2019 data set. The summary notes that the 205,515 BTC<\/a> is \u201ca lower-bound estimation\u201d based solely on \u201cpublicly available information.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. government\u2019s seized 205,515 bitcoins constitute a considerable stash compared to that of other large holders. Although smaller than Grayscale\u2019s cache of 643,572 BTC<\/a>, it surpasses Microstrategy\u2019s stash of 132,500 BTC<\/a>. Furthermore, compared to the whales in the bitcoin-rich list<\/a> of addresses, it would be the second largest (if consolidated), falling behind Binance\u2019s bitcoin cold wallet, which holds 248,597 BTC<\/a> at the time of writing.<\/p>\n

The federal government\u2019s bitcoin stash is also larger than the roughly 140,000 BTC<\/a> in the Mt Gox cache<\/a>. This isn\u2019t the first time the U.S. government has been a top holder; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was the second-largest BTC<\/a> holder after seizing the original Silk Road marketplace. However, the government\u2019s stash at that time was depleted after the U.S. Marshals held bitcoin auctions to sell the crypto assets in 2014.<\/p>\n

\n
\nTags in this story
\n<\/h6>\n
Binance<\/a>, Bitcoin<\/a>, BitFinex<\/a>, Blockchain<\/a>, BTC<\/a>, BTC holdings<\/a>, Coinbase<\/a>, confiscated<\/a>, Crypto<\/a>, crypto assets<\/a>, crypto market<\/a>, crypto wallet<\/a>, Cryptocurrency<\/a>, Decentralized<\/a>, Digital Currency<\/a>, Exchanges<\/a>, FBI<\/a>, forfeiture<\/a>, Gov. Bitcoin<\/a>, Government Bitcoin<\/a>, Government Holdings<\/a>, grayscale<\/a>, James Zhong<\/a>, Law Enforcement<\/a>, microstrategy<\/a>, Mt Gox<\/a>, on-chain data<\/a>, seized<\/a>, Silk Road<\/a>, silk road hacker<\/a>, Stash of BTC<\/a>, U.S. Government<\/a>, Virtual Currency<\/a>, Whales<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What do you think about the U.S. government\u2019s current bitcoin stash? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n
\n\n<\/div>\n
\n
\nJamie Redman <\/h6>\n

\nJamie Redman is the News Lead at Bitcoin.com News and a financial tech journalist living in Florida. Redman has been an active member of the cryptocurrency community since 2011. He has a passion for Bitcoin, open-source code, and decentralized applications. Since September 2015, Redman has written more than 6,000 articles for Bitcoin.com News about the disruptive protocols emerging today.

\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Image Credits<\/b>: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Disclaimer<\/strong>: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com<\/a> does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n