The U.S. government is not selling Bitcoin for the first time
In June 2014, the U.S. government publicly auctioned Bitcoin seized from Silk Road for the first time. Approximately 30,000 Bitcoins were auctioned. Bidders included many investment institutions and individuals, with well-known investor Tim Draper winning multiple bids. In subsequent auctions, the government sold the remaining Bitcoins in batches.
After the auction was completed, the price of Bitcoin remained stable around $600 without experiencing a "collapse." The auction process showcased active bidding from institutional investors, thereby reinforcing the "legitimacy" of Bitcoin to some extent.
In December 2014, the second round of auction involved 50,000 Bitcoins, nearly double the scale of the first auction, and market expectations were similarly pessimistic. However, after the auction concluded, Bitcoin continued to oscillate in the $300 to $400 range without experiencing consecutive crashes.
In March 2015, another 50,000 Bitcoins were auctioned, at which point Bitcoin had already recovered from its previous lows. The previous panic in the market further weakened, and the price stabilized rapidly after slight fluctuations between $280 and $300.
In November 2015, the U.S. government’s auction of hundreds of thousands of Bitcoins by the end of the year did not trigger significant market turbulence. On the contrary, due to ongoing bidding from buyers, these auctions were interpreted as a symbol of Bitcoin gradually gaining more "legitimate investment" status.
To this day, the U.S. Department of Justice has been authorized to liquidate the remaining 69,370 BTC (worth approximately $6.5 billion) seized in the Silk Road case, which has been dormant for over 4 years, marked by the Silk Road wallet address "bc1qa5."
Based on past selling history, Bitcoin prices may experience a brief price panic, but in the long run, due to the U.S. government's tendency to conduct OTC auctions in the past, it is unlikely to sell at market prices, and the negative impact on Bitcoin prices will not last long.
