U.S. government-linked addresses transfer $1 billion in BTC

On March 8, several addresses were created for moving more than 50,000 Bitcoin (BTC), worth $1 billion. These BTC came from various crypto wallets that were previously seized by the US government.

Multiple transfers from specific crypto wallet

The on-chain analytics company PeckShield has data shared showing 3 transfers were made from a US law enforcement crypto wallet. In November 2021, nearly 51,000 BTC were seized by US agencies originating from the Silk Road marketplace and consolidated into 2 wallet addresses.

When analyzing these 3 transfers, it appears that the majority were internal transfers. However, approximately 9,861 BTC was sent to US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, while the other 2 transfers included 30,000 BTC and 9,000 BTC, respectively.

What is Silk Road actually?

Silk Road was an online black market place that operated between 2011 and 2013 and was founded by American ‘Ross Ulbricht’. It was mainly used to trade illegal goods and services, such as drugs, stolen credit card information, weapons and hacking tools.

The website was accessed through the Tor network and payments were made in Bitcoin to ensure the anonymity of the buyer and seller. It was one of the first marketplaces to accept Bitcoin.

In 2013, the site was shut down by the FBI and its owner and operator, Ross Ulbricht, was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment.

While only a small portion of the 50,000 BTC was moved to Coinbase, the movement of billions of BTC from wallets associated with US law enforcement sparked a notable reaction on Twitter, with users voicing wild theories. One user noted that if the US agencies decide to sell their Silk Road Bitcoin, it could put significant selling pressure on the market. Several others finally questioned the timing of such a sale.

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