US Government Transfers Confiscated 3,940 Bitcoins to Coinbase Prime Wallet: Arkham
By Sujha Sundararajan
Updated:
June 27, 2024, 02:47 EDT
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1 min read
According to data from blockchain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence, the US government executed a transfer of 3,940 seized Bitcoins to a Coinbase prime wallet on Wednesday. These assets were seized from Banmeet Singh, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. The current value of the transferred Bitcoins stands at $241 million.
On-chain investigator Lookonchain has reported that the US government’s total Bitcoin holdings amount to 213,546 BTC, equivalent to approximately $13.07 billion. This information is corroborated by data from Bitcoin Treasuries. The United States leads globally in Bitcoin ownership, with China and the UK following behind, holding 190,000 BTC and 61,000 BTC respectively.
Overall, 11 governments worldwide, including Germany and El Salvador, hold Bitcoin, collectively representing 2.7% of the total supply of 21 million Bitcoins.
Earlier today, the German government similarly moved 750 seized Bitcoins, with 250 BTC transferred to Bitstamp and Kraken. Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Casa, noted that the US government has seized and sold a total of at least 195,091 Bitcoins, including those obtained from the Silk Road auction and announcements by the US Marshals Service.
Seizure of Bitcoins from Banmeet Singh’s Case
Banmeet Singh, a dark web vendor, received a five-year prison sentence on April 19 for operating an online drug sales platform. Reports indicate that customers paid for drugs using cryptocurrency through vendor sites managed by Singh.
Over time, Singh’s drug syndicate laundered millions of dollars in proceeds through crypto accounts, totaling around $150 million.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) described this seizure as the largest of its kind involving cryptocurrency.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, Singh spent nearly five years in custody and surrendered over 4,000 units of cryptocurrency as part of his sentencing.
Recent government sales of seized assets have raised concerns within the crypto community about potential downward pressure on Bitcoin prices. Despite this, BTC prices struggled to sustain gains on Wednesday and have fallen by 1.4% in the last 24 hours, currently trading at $60,656 at the time of writing.
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