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Silk Road Bitcoin on the move again: details from U.Today
U.Today – US Government Seized From Illegal Anonymous Internet Trading Platform Silk Road Is On The Move Again. About 4,000 BTC Has Been Transferred to Coinbase (NASDAQ:) Prime From Government-Owned Wallet.
The U.S. government currently holds 213,546 Bitcoin, which is worth about $13 billion. While this is a small fraction of their total assets, this most recent transfer is still significant.
The move to Coinbase Prime, an exchange often used by institutional investors, raises the possibility of plans to sell some of these assets. Recognized primarily for the sale of illicit drugs, the Silk Road was the first contemporary darknet marketplace and online black market.
Under the alias Dread Pirate, Ross Ulbricht introduced it in February 2011. In October 2013 the FBI shut down the website and Ulbricht was taken into custody and sentenced to life in prison.
Other governments have also sold their Bitcoin holdings in recent months. For example, the German government sold a significant portion of its Bitcoin holdings worth $2 billion. Governments are selling off cryptocurrency they have seized to potentially reduce market volatility or capitalize on current values.
This sale is in line with a larger trend in this regard. Such a substantial Bitcoin movement could have a big impact on the market. Large transfers can occasionally cause increased volatility, particularly when linked to government portfolios.
Unfortunately, big sell-offs are coming in a time of high market volatility, where Bitcoin is struggling to hold above $60,000. However, the precise reasons behind this move are unknown to the public. Usually the money raised from these sales goes to finance various government initiatives or is returned to people harmed by crimes related to the seized assets.