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The US government is the owner of 194,188 BTC ($5.3 billion) obtained as a result of confiscation in a number of high-profile lawsuits. This is the lower limit of the range of possible values, according to 21.co.
Analysts were based on publicly available information such as the completed cases regarding Silk Road (69,369 BTC) in November 2020, the hacking of the Bitfinex exchange (94,643 BTC) in January 2022, and the theft of 51,326 BTC by hacker James Zhong in March of the same year.
The US authorities store the seized coins in hardware wallets that are managed by the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service.
The government is in no hurry to convert bitcoins to fiat. The legal process from foreclosure to receiving a final liquidation order can take years. In some cases, this has worked in favor of the government due to the rise in price of the first cryptocurrency.
"We don't play the market. Basically, we are guided by the timing of our process, " Jarod Koopman, executive director of the IRS Cyber and Forensic Investigations Division, told the WSJ.
Nicholas Kristin, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, explained to the publication that the authorities have to conduct a thorough audit, " often there are a lot of bureaucratic delays."
In 2019, venture capitalist Tim Draper bought 30,000 BTC from the US government at a price of about $6 per coin. Later, the entrepreneur lost access to them after hacking Mt. Gox.
In March 2023, US authorities sold 9,118 BTC (~$215.7 million) through Coinbase.
Recall, analysts at Arkham Intelligence estimated that the American cryptocurrency exchange holds almost 1 million BTC, which is about 5% of all bitcoins in circulation.
Analysts were based on publicly available information such as the completed cases regarding Silk Road (69,369 BTC) in November 2020, the hacking of the Bitfinex exchange (94,643 BTC) in January 2022, and the theft of 51,326 BTC by hacker James Zhong in March of the same year.
The US authorities store the seized coins in hardware wallets that are managed by the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service.
The government is in no hurry to convert bitcoins to fiat. The legal process from foreclosure to receiving a final liquidation order can take years. In some cases, this has worked in favor of the government due to the rise in price of the first cryptocurrency.
"We don't play the market. Basically, we are guided by the timing of our process, " Jarod Koopman, executive director of the IRS Cyber and Forensic Investigations Division, told the WSJ.
Nicholas Kristin, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, explained to the publication that the authorities have to conduct a thorough audit, " often there are a lot of bureaucratic delays."
In 2019, venture capitalist Tim Draper bought 30,000 BTC from the US government at a price of about $6 per coin. Later, the entrepreneur lost access to them after hacking Mt. Gox.
In March 2023, US authorities sold 9,118 BTC (~$215.7 million) through Coinbase.
Recall, analysts at Arkham Intelligence estimated that the American cryptocurrency exchange holds almost 1 million BTC, which is about 5% of all bitcoins in circulation.
