49,000 Bitcoins linked to Silk Road theft in 2012 transferred by US authorities
According to blockchain analysis firm PeckShieldAlert, US officials have moved a total of 49,000 Bitcoin from their original wallets. On-chain data shows that around 40,000 Bitcoin (worth $880 million) related to US cryptocurrency seizures are being moved between government-related wallets. Additionally, 9,800 Bitcoin (around $217 million) has been transferred to Coinbase.
The reason behind the move by US authorities is currently unclear. However, many are worried that they may be planning to sell a large amount of Bitcoin on the market. This could have a significant impact on the coin’s price, especially as the Mt.Gox exchange prepares to repay its customers in March.
#PeckShieldAlert 49k $BTC (worth $1 Billion) from wallets related to US Government law enforcement seizures have been transferred to #Coinbase (~9.8k $BTC, worth $217M), bc1qf2…fsv (30k $BTC) & bc1qe7…rdg (9k $BTC) #SilkRoad pic.twitter.com/4MzlvDzkut
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) March 8, 2023
Furthermore, several significant events are approaching in March. According to AZCoin News, on March 8th, the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, will testify before the House of Representatives. On March 10th, the US Labor Statistics Bureau will release its report on US unemployment rates and wage growth. As a result, this is a period of potential significant market volatility, and traders need to be cautious.
The over 49,000 Bitcoin mentioned above are believed to be from the 2012 Silk Road dark web theft. In November 2021, US police raided a suspect’s house, James Zhong, in Georgia (US), and seized 50,076 Bitcoin hidden by him.
At the time, the value of the Bitcoin was over $3.36 billion. The US Department of Justice claimed that this was the second-largest cryptocurrency asset seizure in history. The largest seizure was at the beginning of 2022 when the US seized $3.6 billion from the Bitfinex exchange hack.
Read more:
- Fed Chair Powell Signalled Interest Rates Could End Up Being Higher Than Expected, Sending Bitcoin Price Lower
- Bitcoin Outflows Continue As Stronger Macro Data Weighs On Crypto Sentiment: CoinShares