US Government Prepares to Sell 30,000 Silk Road Bitcoins, On-Chain Data Shows

Today the U.S. government sent a transaction indicating it may be close to liquidating the remaining Bitcoin it seized from online marketplace Silk Road.

According to on-chain data, a test transaction of 0.001 BTC was moved by the US government, part of a large holding of approximately 30,174 BTC worth approximately $2 billion linked to the infamous Silk Road market.

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, received transactions from these Silk Road-related funds. Arkham Intelligence first identified the source of the BTC and the destination of the coins on Coinbase. The purpose of this transaction appears to be to sell coins as was done before.

Last March, the U.S. government sold 10,000 Bitcoins linked to Silk Road, selling 9,861 BTC worth $216 million, according to court filings.

Like the previous case, this one involved three on-chain transactions, which were sent weeks before the sale was disclosed to the court.

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

Despite attempts by U.S. lawmakers to hold these funds as strategic assets, the FBI has continued to sell them under its authority, and the U.S. Marshals Service’s role is to sell assets seized in criminal investigations.