Bitcoin Tumbles Below $67K As US Government Moves $2B Silk Road Tokens Despite ”Never Sell” Donald Trump Pledge

On Jul 30, 2024

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The Bitcoin price plunged after a US Government transfer of $2 billion in seized Silk Road BTC in a move that followed Donald Trump‘s vow to “never sell” US government holdings of BTC.

A wallet tagged as “U.S. Government: Silk Road DOJ” moved 29,800 BTC on July 29 to an unlabeled address that has no transaction history, according to Arkham Intelligence. Thereafter, the address performed transactions of 19,800 BTC and 10,000 BTC to two different addresses.

The transfers spooked crypto investors, who quickly dumped their holdings in the leading crypto due to fears of an impending selloff. Bitcoin slumped 4% to trade at $66,639.72 as of 2:45 a.m. EST.

US Government’s BTC Might Have Been Sent To Coinbase

Analysts at Arkham suspect that the transfer of 10,000 BTC, worth $670 million, was a deposit to an institutional custody or service.

Commenting on the recent transfers by the US Government wallet, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart speculated that the transactions might be the result of US Marshals choosing Coinbase to manage its digital assets.

Has to be this, right? https://t.co/NZqQPE6GoL pic.twitter.com/7Ek6bLwpeq
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) July 29, 2024

In a July 1 statement, Coinbase revealed that the US Marshals Service selected Coinbase Prime “to provide custody and advanced trading services for the agency’s Class 1 (large cap) digital assets.”

You guys freak out any time large coins move.
Remember that US Marshall’s *just* signed with Coinbase Prime to start custody of government held digital assets? https://t.co/wwxoFepggH pic.twitter.com/WlroZvrblm
— Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) July 29, 2024

Bitcoin 2024 Excitement Comes To An Abrupt End

Before the $2 billion worth of BTC was shifted, the crypto community was riding a wave of euphoria after a series of bullish statements by Republican presidential nominee Trump.

At the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville at the weekend, Trump said the US government will launch a strategic Bitcoin reserve if he wins the November elections. He also promised his administration would never sell any of its seized BTC.

Trump supporters slammed the development, with Gemini’s Tyler Winklevoss sarcastically calling it a ”great look and great way to reset with our industry.”

On Saturday, @realDonaldTrump pledged to never sell any of the US government’s bitcoin. Two days later, the Biden-Harris Administration moves $2 billion of Silk Road bitcoin. Great look and great way to reset with our industry. 🤡
— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) July 29, 2024

Despite some investors panic selling over the past 24 hours, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index still stands at 67 to signal greed in the market. The index did, however, fall seven points during the past day of trading.

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