How Much Bitcoin Does the U.S. Government Still Hold? When did the goods come out?

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, compiled by Odaily translator Katie Koo.

Recently we released the Bitcoin Key Metrics Dashboard involving the top 100 wallets holding Bitcoin. We found that among the largest holders of bitcoins is the US government. Since 2020, the U.S. government has seized at least 215,000 bitcoins.

1. On March 9, 2023, approximately 49,000 bitcoins seized by U.S. government law enforcement moved on-chain, with approximately 9,900 bitcoins worth a total of $221.7 million sent to Coinbase addresses. Therefore, we track the three major bitcoin wallets seized by the U.S. government in real time based on the Bitcoin key indicator dashboard, and predict market trends through changes in wallet funds:

2. November 2020: 69,369 bitcoins linked to an anonymous criminal dubbed "Individual X" who stole bitcoins from darknet market Silk Road in 2013-14 .

3. January 2022: 94,643 Bitcoins linked to Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan. The IRS accused the couple of laundering $4.5 billion in the 2016 Bitfinex hack.

Note that this is a bottom-line estimate of US government Bitcoin holdings based on publicly available information.

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Large Bitcoin transactions on the U.S. government chain in recent years

1. About 49,000 bitcoins moved on-chain by the U.S. government on March 9, 2023 came from bitcoins stolen by James Zhong from the dark web "Silk Road" in September 2012.

The funds, approximately 39,100 bitcoins, worth $875.3 million at the time, appeared to be internal transfers. However, 9,900 bitcoins worth $221.7 million were sent to Coinbase addresses at the time, fueling speculation that the move could herald a sale of the seized bitcoins.

This is not the first time the U.S. government has sold seized bitcoin. In 2013, when law enforcement shut down the darknet Silk Road, 173,991 bitcoins were seized during the investigation, 144,336 of which came from the wallet of Ross Ulbricht, creator of the darknet Silk Road marketplace. Venture capitalist Tim Draper bought 30,000 of the bitcoins that the U.S. government auctioned off in four separate installments in 2014 and 2015 for $18.7 million.

Figure 1: US Government Transaction History

2. It is estimated that, as of March 22, 2023, the U.S. government’s current Bitcoin balance is 205,515, worth approximately $5.8 billion.

We estimate that as of March 22, 2023, the U.S. government owns approximately 1.06% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply. Just a year ago, U.S. government holdings of Bitcoin were worth a little over $10 billion at their peak.

Figure 2: Cumulative U.S. Government Balances (Bitcoin vs. USD)

3. By cross-referencing our findings with our previous dashboard on key Bitcoin metrics, we note that the U.S. government owns two of the top 10 Bitcoin wallets.

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Summarize

• Summarize

• The amount of bitcoins seized: Since 2020, the US government has seized at least 215,000 bitcoins.

• Recent transactions: The U.S. government transferred some 9,900 bitcoins worth $221.7 million to Coinbase, sparking speculation about a potential sale.

• Current Bitcoin Balances: As of March 22, 2023, the U.S. government has an estimated Bitcoin balance of 205,515, worth approximately $5.8 billion.

Largest Bitcoin holders: As of March 22, 2023, the U.S. government controls 1.06% of Bitcoin's circulating supply. The U.S. government holds two spots in the top ten bitcoin wallets.