U.S. Government's $1B Bitcoin Transfer Spooks Investors, Bitcoin Dips
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Loading... - Lynda Celine
- 09 Mar 2023
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The price of bitcoin dipped below 22,000 early Wednesday after authorities moved some of the bitcoin to Coinbase-controlled wallets.
U.S. authorities transferred $1 billion worth of bitcoin (BTC) recovered from a dark web hack to new wallet addresses, including one owned by Coinbase, on Wednesday, stoking investor fears that intense sell pressures could drive down the token's price.
Authorities moved the bitcoin in three transactions, according to data from blockchain security firm PeckShield. Nearly 10,000 bitcoin were sent to Coinbase-controlled wallets, while roughly $41,000 tokens were directed to government-controlled wallets.
PeckShield published its findings on Twitter early Wednesday morning, and investors were quick to notice. In the hours after the report's release, investors expressed their fears that authorities would sell the recovered bitcoin on the open market, potentially tanking the price of bitcoin, which has recovered from its two-year low of roughly $15,500 in November. The concerns caused bitcoin's price to dip roughly 2%, pushing it below $22,000.
An open market sale would be a departure from authorities' past handlings of seized digital assets. The government usually sells seized assets at auction. In 2014 and 2015, the government auctioned off bitcoin seized from the owner of virtual black market platform Silk Road. Read More..
