Is A Bitcoin Sell-Off Coming? US Government Moves 10,000 BTC To Coinbase
As Bitcoin price consolidates just below its all-time high of $99,540, a major move by the U.S. government has investors worried. The government has moved a large amount of Bitcoin it seized to Coinbase, possibly signaling its intention to sell. This echoes similar actions that affected the market earlier this year.
US Government Bitcoin Transfers
according to According to market intelligence firm Arkham, the U.S. government transferred approximately 10,000 Bitcoins to two separate wallets, worth approximately $1.92 billion at current market prices.
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One wallet contained $969 million worth of Bitcoin, while the other contained approximately $949 million. This strategic allocation raises concerns, especially given the history of governments selling seized Bitcoin, which could create significant selling pressure in the market.
Data from encryption analytics company Dune shows that the U.S. government currently held A total of 183,422 Bitcoins, worth over $17.6 billion. This represents approximately 0.93% of the total Bitcoin supply.
If the government decides to sell some of its holdings, it could put significant downward pressure on the price of Bitcoin, reminiscent of previous sell-offs following major transfers.
Government sales to stop in 2025?
Historically, such actions have led to increased volatility. For example, NewsBTC report In April, when Bitcoin prices peaked at $73,700, the government moved more than 30,000 Bitcoins seized from the Silk Road market.
Previously, more than 50,000 Bitcoins were seized from James Chung, funds he allegedly obtained through illegal means related to the incident. silk road 2012. Following these transfers, Bitcoin experienced significant price swings and trended downward in the following months.
In 2022, the government also sold 9,800 Bitcoins and plans to divest an additional 41,500 Bitcoins. This history has raised concerns that the latest transfer could lead to a similar outcome, potentially jeopardizing Bitcoin’s recent price momentum. However, there is growing hope that such moves will be curbed by 2025.
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President-elect Donald Trump, who is expected to take office on January 20, has laid out a strategy that includes making Bitcoin strategic reserve assets For the United States.
This approach would involve the government purchasing nearly 1 million Bitcoins, rather than selling its current holdings, with plans to use the assets to help reduce the country’s $36 trillion national debt.
The proposal was introduced to Congress under the Bitcoin Act by Republican U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis and received widespread support. bipartisan support. With the recent leadership switch from Democrats to Republicans and a majority in the House of Representatives, there is optimism that the bill could take effect in the second or third quarter of 2025.
At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $96,000, down 0.7% in the past 24 hours.
Featured images from DALL-E, charts from TradingView.com
