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US government ranks as one of the top Bitcoin holders, possessing more than $5 billion in BTC, according to a report.
The U.S. government has emerged as one of the largest holders of Bitcoin, possessing over 200,000 BTC valued at more than $5 billion, even after divesting a few thousand BTC worth millions earlier this year.
Based on an analysis of public records, the crypto firm 21.co estimated that the U.S. government currently retains 194,188 BTC, approximated to be worth $5.3 billion. The firm indicated that these figures represent “lower-bound estimations of the U.S. government holdings based on publicly available information.”
US government Bitcoin holdings. Source: Dune
The analysis monitored the Bitcoin transactions of U.S. government wallets linked to the three largest BTC confiscations since 2020, specifically the Silk Road seizure of 69,369 BTC in November 2020, the Bitfinex Hack seizure of 94,643 BTC in January 2022, and the James Zhong seizure of 51,326 BTC in March 2022.
Key Bitcoin seizures by US government. Source: Dune
The Bitcoin reserves of the government are primarily stored offline in encrypted devices known as hardware wallets, which are managed by the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service. The U.S. government executed two major seizures in 2022.
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Seized assets do not automatically become government property. The U.S. Marshals Service, the main agency responsible for selling confiscated assets, only gains custody of the seized Bitcoins following a court’s issuance of a final forfeiture ruling.
The U.S. government periodically sells a portion of the confiscated Bitcoin through an auction process in accordance with court liquidation directives. A notable auction occurred in 2014 when billionaire Tim Draper acquired 30,000 BTC from U.S. government auctions.
In recent years, however, the U.S. government has increasingly utilized crypto exchanges to sell seized Bitcoins instead of public auctions. One such transaction took place in March of this year when the government sold 9,118 BTC on Coinbase, as confirmed by a public filing.
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