The United States government is one of the most significant Bitcoin (BTC) holders in the world, holding 205,514 BTC — worth $6 billion — according to Glassnode data.
Reflexivity Research co-founder Will Clemente noted that the U.S. government acquired its BTC through seizures.
For context, the U.S. Department of Justice seized $3.6 billion worth of Bitcoin connected to the 2016 Bitfinex hack last year. Before that, the government took 70,000 BTC from Ross Ulbricht when it brought down the Silk Road.
The U.S. government’s substantial BTC holding places it ahead of whales like MicroStrategy — which has spent over $4 billion to acquire 140,000 units of the flagship digital asset.
Meanwhile, the largest BTC holder is the pseudonymous creator of the blockchain network, Satoshi Nakamoto, with 1 million BTC. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust follows him with 650,000 BTC. Others on the list include exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and Bitfinex.
What would the US government do with its BTC?
Judging by its precedence, the U.S. government would likely sell off the digital assets in the next few years.
In March, the U.S. government filed a memo in the Southern District of New York showing it sold 9,861.17 BTC for $215.5 million. The memo revealed that the sold BTC was part of the assets it seized from the Silk Road marketplace.
The court filing further hinted that the government would still sell more BTC before the end of the year. Earlier this week, rumors emerged that the government was selling part of these assets.
Meanwhile, many industry players have criticized the government’s penchant for selling, pointing out that it could have made more money by holding. For instance, the U.S. government sold 29,657 Bitcoin for about $18 million in 2014. Today, the same asset would be worth almost $900 million.
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