US Government Now Holds $13.82B Worth of Bitcoin
Although the US government holds a significant amount of Bitcoin, it has periodically sold portions of its crypto holdings.
According to data from the blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, the US government’s Bitcoin (BTC) holdings have reached a total of 216.788, worth approximately $13.83 billion. The company, focused on deanonymizing entities within the crypto space, said the increase stems from recent developments, particularly the seizure of assets from Banmeet Singh, an Indian national involved in illegal activities on the dark web.
Singh, who pleaded guilty to d distribution charges in January this year, forfeited approximately $150 million in proceeds from his illicit operations. Additionally, authorities confiscated 3940 BTC belonging to the offender. The assets are currently valued at around $250 million.
US Bitcoin Seizures
The recent seizure significantly contributed to the government’s Bitcoin reserves, which now total $13.8 billion. Arkham said a substantial portion of these assets may have been acquired through criminal seizures.
Before the recent addition, the US government’s Bitcoin holdings stood at approximately $8 billion. As of October 2023, the country held around $5.3 billion worth of Bitcoin.
According to separate data from blockchain analytics firm Dune, the government has confiscated around 200,000 tokens from cybercriminals since 2020.
The country’s top three Bitcoin seizures from November 2020 until now include the infamous Silk Road seizures totaling 69,369 BTC, the January 2022 Bitfinex Hack Seizure of 94,643 BTC, and the March 2022 James Zhong Seizure of 51,326 BTC.