40,000 BTC Moved on Coinbase by US Government, What’s Happening?

The U.S. government recently moved around 40,000 Bitcoins, worth more than $2 billion, to Coinbase cluster. While the move has sparked speculation that the government might be looking to liquidate its holdings while the cryptocurrency market is at local highs, it seems that most of the transfers are internal.

Internal transfers are routine operations that do not involve the selling of assets, but rather their redistribution within the organization. In the case of the U.S. government’s Bitcoin holdings, it is likely that the transfers are part of the government’s regular management of its cryptocurrency assets.

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 worth noting that around 9,861 BTC seized from the Silk Road hacker were also sent to the Coinbase cluster. The Silk Road was a notorious online black market that was shut down by the FBI in 2013. The seized Bitcoins were sold at auction in 2014, and it is unclear why they have been transferred to Coinbase now.

The move has raised questions about the U.S. government’s overall strategy with its cryptocurrency holdings. Some have speculated that the government may be looking to sell off its holdings while the market is at a high, while others have suggested that the transfers are simply part of the government’s ongoing management of its assets.

Regardless of the government’s intentions, the move has not had a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin’s price has remained relatively stable despite the most recent bearish speech Jerome Powell delivered in Congress, the government’s transfers and other developments in the space.

At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $22,024, practically showing no reaction to the transfer.