Attorney Johnsson confirms US Marshal Service and Coinbase agreement to sell Silk Road Bitcoins.
He said that the official confirmation of selling Silk Road Bitcoins will come in the January report.
Industry leaders say that the US govt. BTC transfers don’t align with Kamala Harris’s crypto reset promise.
As the US government moved a total of 10,000 Bitcoins worth $600 million earlier this week to crypto exchange Coinbase Prime, many suggested that this might be for deposit purposes.
However, attorney Scott Johnsson has uncovered the truth stating that the US Marshal Service (USMS) is certainly selling the BTC as per the previous agreement with crypto exchange Coinbase.
US Silk Road Bitcoins And Coinbase Agreement
Confirming that the US Marshal Service is selling the Silk Road Bitcoins, Attorney Scott Johnsson stated that the USMS entered into a terms of service agreement with Coinbase earlier this year in June.
This agreement shows that the USMS assets remain segregated and thus any transfers to Coinbase Prime and other exchanges definitely signal that the sale has already happened or is imminent, said Johnsson.
Besides, the Attorney also stated that the official confirmation of these transactions would come in the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Program FY2024 report in January, if not before.
He also suggested that the recent activity might have accelerated following Donald Trump’s huge support to the Bitcoin industry.
Attorney Johnsson also said that it was ironic that the transfers came during the Crypto for Harris meeting earlier this week, scheduled with the goal of working on a crypto reset between Kamala Harris and the crypto industry.
Yes, US Marshal Service (USMS) is almost certainly selling silk road bitcoin. Joey is right (at least in the present). USMS has been sending BTC to a custodial address required by the terms of the servicing agreement that USMS entered into with Coinbase in June. Given the…
— Scott Johnsson (@SGJohnsson) August 16, 2024
Over the last month, the US government has moved a total of 40,000 Bitcoins seized from the Silk Road route. Interestingly, these transfers began soon after the German government liquidated all of their BTC through a rampant BTC selling spree last month in July.
As per the Arkham Intelligence data, the US government still holds 203,239 BTC value at $12.420 billion as of the current BTC price.
BTC As A Reserve Asset
Former President Donald Trump has said that he would consider making Bitcoin a reserve asset for the US if re-elected to power in the 2024 US Presidential Elections.
Many crypto industry veterans have also backed this idea while calling out that the US government’s Bitcoin transfers are not in tune with Kamala Harris’s crypto reset promises.
Besides, crypto industry players called the recent town hall meeting a clown show. Many called it a missed opportunity for Kamala Harris to showcase her support for the crypto industry.
Other crypto industry leaders said that they don’t trust Harris and would continue to support Donald Trump.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that crypto is a bipartisan issue and that the US cannot wait on the sidelines for crypto regulations, and lose the opportunity to other countries. He also assured of having firm crypto regulations in the US by the year-end.
