US Government Preparing to Sell 30,000 Silk Road Bitcoin, On-Chain Data Shows

Today, the US government sent a transaction that appears to indicate it may be on the verge of liquidating the remaining Bitcoin it confiscated from the online marketplace Silk Road.

According to on-chain data, a 0.001 BTC test transaction, part of a larger stash of approximately 30,174 BTC worth $2 billion linked to the infamous Silk Road marketplace, were moved by the US government.

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States, received the transaction from these Silk Road-related funds. Arkham Intelligence first identified the origins of where the BTC was coming from, and the coins destination of Coinbase. It appears the purpose of this transaction is to sell the coins, as it has previously done in the past.

Last March, the U.S. government sold off 10,000 bitcoin related to Silk Road, selling just over 9,861 BTC worth $216 million, according to a court filing.

As in this case, this event was proceeded by 3 on-chain transactions, which were sent a few weeks prior to the sale’s disclosure in a court filing.

The U.S. Marshals Service is one of the largest Bitcoin sellers to date. According to data from researcher Jameson Lopp, the US Marshals have helped the US government sell 195,000 BTC.

Despite attempts by U.S. lawmakers to have the agency hold these funds as a strategic asset, it has continued to sell the funds in line with its mandate, the role of the U.S. Marshalls Service being to sell off assets confiscated in criminal investigations.