$2B Silk Road Bitcoin Transfer by U.S. Government Triggers Market Drop Amid Trump’s BTC Reserve Promise

On Monday, the U.S. government moved $2 billion worth of seized bitcoin (BTC), causing a significant drop in already declining prices and raising concerns among investors. This transfer occurred just days after former President Donald Trump vowed to build a substantial BTC reserve if he wins the presidency.

According to blockchain analysis by Arkham Intelligence, a wallet identified as "U.S. Government: Silk Road DOJ" moved 29,800 BTC, previously linked to the Silk Road website, to a new address with no transaction history. Subsequently, this address split the funds, sending 19,800 BTC and 10,000 BTC to separate addresses.

Analysts at Arkham speculated that the 10,000 BTC transaction, valued at approximately $670 million, might be a deposit to an institutional custody service.

Historically, such transfers have often indicated upcoming asset sales. Following this move, BTC prices fell below $67,000, continuing a downward trend from an earlier high of $70,000. At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was trading at $66,700, down 1.6% over the past 24 hours, while the broader CoinDesk 20 Index showed little change during the same period.

This transfer coincided with Trump's announcement at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, where he promised to establish a "strategic national bitcoin stockpile" if elected. Prior to this transfer, the U.S. government held $12 billion worth of seized bitcoin, as per Arkham's data.