US Government Moves $2 Billion in Silk Road Bitcoin

The United States government moved just over $2 billion worth of seized Bitcoin connected to the Silk Road dark web marketplace to a new, as yet unidentified wallet, according to on-chain data shared by Arkham Intelligence.

The move comes just two days after former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate in this year’s presidential election, told the audience at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville that he would create a national “strategic Bitcoin stockpile” if elected.

As part of that proposed move, Trump said that the government would no longer sell any seized Bitcoin.

It’s not yet known whether the United States plans to sell today’s transferred Bitcoin. Decrypt reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice for comment and clarification, but did not receive an immediate response.

However, such moves routinely spook investors: the price of the biggest digital coin by market cap dropped by more than 2% the hour after the news, per CoinGecko.

After having briefly touched $70,000 per coin Monday morning Eastern Time, it’s now priced at $66,845—trading below its 2021 all-time high of $69,044. 

Members of the crypto community on Twitter (aka X) erupted over the price dip. Crypto entrepreneur and Galaxy Digital boss Mike Novogratz wrote, for example: “Tone deaf anyone??? Moving Silk Road BTC two days after Trump’s pledge to not move them is just dumb!!!!”

However, there may not be cause for alarm. Venture capitalist Adam Cochran reminded users on the platform that the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) just this month awarded Coinbase Prime a contract to manage and dispose of its large-cap cryptocurrency assets, suggesting that a transfer may not indicate an intent to sell.

“You guys freak out any time large coins move,” he said.

The feds hold Bitcoin that’s been seized from criminals and sometimes move it around between wallets and/or custodians. The authorities don’t always sell the crypto they seize, but they have done in the past. 

Whether it’s the U.S. government or others around the world, big moves tend to move markets. Last month, news that the German government was moving Bitcoin to crypto exchanges caused the price of the asset to plummet, though it ultimately recovered.

The Bitcoin moved by the government today was from Silk Road, an online black market which mostly facilitated the sale of illegal drugs before authorities shut it down in 2014. Feds confiscated the Bitcoin used on the website to buy goods.

Editor’s note: This story was updated after publication with additional details.