A strange transaction involving 3,940 Bitcoins, worth $241 million, has become the focus of attention on social media. The transfer originated from an address identified as belonging to the United States and was sent to the US exchange Coinbase. What happened?
After Germany, it’s the United States’ turn
A few days earlier, the news broke. Germany had just moved 6,500 Bitcoins to various centralized exchanges (CEX), including Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitstamp. The US seems to be following in the footsteps of the fourth largest holder of BTC, as it has also made a transaction to the US exchange Coinbase.
On-chain detective Lookonchain was the first to reveal the information via a thread on X:
Note that the US government wallets deposited 3,940 $BTC($241.22M) into Coinbase Prime 5 minutes ago.
The US government currently holds 213,546 $BTC($13.07B). pic.twitter.com/CAc87E2xFa
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) June 26, 2024
This thread reveals that an address identified as belonging to the United States had just made a transaction of 3,940 BTC, worth approximately $241 million at the time of writing.
Bitcoins from an illegal drug market?
According to Arkham, a company specializing in on-chain analysis, these BTCs are believed to have come from a seizure in January 2024 from Banmeet Singh, an Indian citizen who used BTC as a means of payment on his drug sales website.
The latter was found guilty of drug trafficking and money laundering during his trial.
The confiscation of these BTCs was worth $150 million at the time, when the price of Bitcoin was between $42,000 and $44,000. With the price of BTC currently around $61,000, the value of this confiscation is now $241 million.
It will be interesting to keep an eye on the next moves that state powers may take. As a reminder, the United States currently owns 213,546 BTC worth $13 billion, making it one of the largest holders in the world.
