Data from the blockchain shows unexpected Bitcoin transfers from the US authorities, sparking rumors of an imminent sale of BTC.
By blockchain data statistical unit Glassnodewallets linked to cryptocurrency seizures by US authorities since mid-February have moved around 40,000 BTC.
While most transactions are just going back and forth between wallets, but Glassnode claims to have discovered 9,861 BTC transferred to Coinbase exchange, equivalent to an amount of nearly 214 million USD.
Approximately 40k $BTC from wallets associated with US Government law enforcement seizures are on the move.
Of these, the majority appear to be internal transfers (so far), however approximately 9,861 $BTC seized from the Silk Road hacker have been sent to our Coinbase cluster. pic.twitter.com/afuEYcV18L
— glassnode (@glassnode) March 7, 2023
It is not clear what the purpose of the transfers was, nor whether the funds raised to Coinbase were sold.
The US has in the past seized large amounts of cryptocurrencies as evidence of industry fraud and attack cases. In 2013, the FBI busted the “Silk Road black market” and confiscated 144,000 BTC.
In February 2022, the US Department of Justice announced that it had found the culprit of the 2016 Bitfinex attack, seizing all 94,000 BTC. By November of the same year, US authorities continued to recover another 50,000 BTC from an individual accused of hacking into Silk Road.
US authorities have repeatedly held auctions to sell BTC exhibits, but have never been recorded transferring Bitcoin money directly to the exchange like that. Therefore, the above information is causing a stir in the Twitter crypto community, especially when it comes at a very sensitive time when another big “whale” is the Mt. Gox holding 144,000 BTC is about to begin the process of returning investors after 10 years of holding the asset.
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