US transfers $1.9 billion Bitcoin to Coinbase

In a significant move that has drawn attention across the crypto market, the US government has transferred 20,000 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $1.9 billion, to Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.

This transfer, stemming from a wallet linked to the Silk Road dark web marketplace, marks the latest in a series of large-scale Bitcoin movements by the government.

Bitcoin price taps $94,497 following the transfer

This large-scale move was executed in two phases, starting with a small test transfer of 0.001 BTC, worth roughly $97, followed by a much larger transaction of 19.8K BTC, approximately $1.92 billion.

The Bitcoin was initially sent to an intermediary wallet before making its way to Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.

This is not the first such transaction by the US government.

In August 2024, 10,000 bitcoins, valued at $600 million at the time, were also moved from the same wallet to Coinbase, further fueling speculation about the government’s ongoing involvement in the cryptocurrency market.

The US government’s crypto activities have continued to shape market sentiment, with the movement of such large amounts of Bitcoin often leading to fluctuations in the price of the cryptocurrency.

The latest Bitcoin transfer caused Bitcoin price to plummet to $94,497 before slightly rebounding to $95,374 at press time.

US government still has large crypto holdings

The wallet from which the Bitcoin was transferred, which was originally tied to Silk Road—a now-defunct online marketplace known for facilitating illegal activities such as drug and weapon trades—still contains an estimated $18 billion worth of crypto.

Aside from about 188.409k Bitcoin, the US authorities are also holding other crypto assets, including approximately 59.568k Ethereum, valued at about $213.27 million, and 122.131 million USDT, a popular stablecoin.

Since the government holds a significant amount of digital assets, its strategies will likely continue to influence the market in the months to come.