US Government Shuffles 19,800 Bitcoin, Sending 10,000 BTC to Coinbase

After halting for almost four months, the US government has resumed Bitcoin shuffling, sending a substantial amount to the Coinbase Prime wallet address.

Notably, the US government moved a fresh 19,800 to Coinbase, with the latest transaction being its first Bitcoin-related on-chain transfer since August.

Transaction Details

Data from Arkham shows that a wallet tied to the US government moved 19,800 BTC to a Coinbase Prime wallet on Monday by 16:27 (UTC). At the time of the transfer, the funds were valued at $1.92 billion, averaging $96,969 per bitcoin.

Notably, the US government wallet address moved the funds to an intermediary route before ultimately sending them to the largest crypto exchange in the US. However, Arkham’s data shows that the exchange reverted 9,800 BTC to the intermediary wallet, meaning the net inflow amounted to just 10,000 BTC from the US government.

Meanwhile, further analysis shows the funds were part of the spoils from the US government’s Silk Road marketplace crackdown. Notably, in October, the Supreme Court gave the United States the green light to sell the seized 69,370 BTC tokens.

Following the transaction, the US government now holds 198,109 BTC, worth $19 billion. The country’s wallet address also contains a substantial amount of Ethereum, USDT, and BNB.

Bitcoin Sales?

Amidst the skepticism raised by the Monday transaction, analysis suggests the shuffle could be for another purpose other than sales. On-chain tracker Spotonchain noted in an update today that the 10,000 BTC sent to Coinbase was for custody actions rather than the widely speculated asset dump.

🚨 The #USGovernment moved 19,800 $BTC ($1.92B) out 9 hours ago, of which 10,000 $BTC ($962.9M) were sent to #Coinbase.

So far in 2024, the US government has transferred a total of 25,999 $BTC ($2.49B) to Coinbase. However, these transfers appear to be custody actions rather… https://t.co/yzBCs9exrT pic.twitter.com/JGceTq1ZZd

— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) December 3, 2024

Notably, the US Marshals Service—an agency under the US Department of Justice—announced in July that it has selected Coinbase Prime as a custody provider. Per the disclosure, the leading exchange will provide custody and trading services for the agency’s “Class 1” cryptocurrencies.

Meanwhile, the shuffle coincided with a halt in Bitcoin’s Monday rally, as BTC dropped from an intraday high of $98,171 to its current market price. The premier asset trades at $95,219, down less than 1% in the past 24 hours.