Crypto News– The United States government’s planned sale of nearly $118 million in seized Silk Road Bitcoin ($BTC), which was highlighted in a Jan. 10 forfeiture notice and circulated on social media on Jan. 24, isn’t causing much concern among market commentators.
The US government’s intended 118 million Dollars Bitcoin sale is minuscule when contrasted with GBTC
The decision to dispose of the 2,934 BTC follows the Jan. 8 sentencing of Silk Road Xanax dealer Ryan Farace and his father Joseph Farace for money laundering conspiracy.
Although some members of the community expressed worries about a potential multimillion-dollar “dump” of Bitcoin due to the auction, Steven Lubka, managing director at Bitcoin exchange Swan Bitcoin, dismissed these concerns, stating that the sale would be insignificant compared to the outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) over the last week.
Lubka remarked, “Peanuts, we have been eating GBTC sales 4x this for breakfast.”
Comparing the US government’s 118 million Dollars Bitcoin sale to GBTC reveals a vast difference in scale
Indeed, GBTC has sold 106,575 BTC valued at $4.2 billion since transitioning to a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund on Jan. 11, with the latest outflow being 10,871 BTC on Jan. 24.
Additionally, the U.S. government’s planned sale represents just 1.5% of the total estimated 194,188 BTC or $7.7 billion it holds from three seizures made in criminal cases, according to data from crypto firm 21.co. This amount still constitutes less than 1% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply.
The three Bitcoin hauls and sales by the U.S. government include:
- 94,643 BTC seized in January 2022 from the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
- 69,369 BTC seized in November 2020 from the Silk Road.
- 51,326 BTC seized from Silk Road hacker James Zhong.
Leave a comment