The crypto business is facing trouble in the U.S. due to regulatory concerns, as well as issues related to exploitation, scams, and fraud. However, recent news has gained everyone’s attention, as it has come to light that the U.S. government currently holds a significant amount of around 200,000 Bitcoins worth more than $5 billion.
The U.S. government’s Crypto holdings revealed
Recently, a crypto firm, 21. co, conducted an analysis based on publicly available data, revealing that the U.S. government currently holds around 194,188 Bitcoins worth approximately $5.3 billion. It is worth noting that this total holding is based only on publicly available data.
Source: Dune
The data used to track the U.S. government’s holdings are primarily associated with the three most significant Bitcoin seizures since 2020. These seizures include the Silk Road seizure of approximately 69,369 BTC in November 2020, another seizure related to the Bitfinex Hack, which involved 94,643 BTC in January 2022, and a seizure linked to the James Zohing case, which accounted for 51,326 BTC in March 2022.
Source: Dune Use of Cold wallet by the U.S. government
As of now, this significant holding by the U.S. government is stored in cold wallets, which are hardware crypto wallets designed to enhance security and prevent exploitation or scams. These cold wallets are controlled by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Internal Revenue Service.
This significant holding by the U.S. government is also going to support the nation if we compare it with the gold reserve. As of now, many countries across the world, do not have a clear stance on crypto, they all waiting for a proper global crypto regulation including India. If we talk about the total Bitcoin holding by the Indian government it might be zero because of no clear vision, which might affect the economy in coming years.
Legal process for Crypto seizure
It’s important to note that the Bitcoin seized by the U.S. government does not immediately become government property. It becomes the property of the government only after the court declares it lost and determines that it belongs to them.
In addition to holding these assets, the government periodically sells a portion of its holdings through auctions, which are also conducted based on court orders. One famous auction took place in 2014 when billionaire Tim Draper purchased 30,000 Bitcoins. A more recent auction occurred in March of this year, during which the government sold 9,118 BTC, as confirmed by public filings.
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