U.S. Government Now Holds Over 200,000 BTC Valued at $5 Billion

Despite selling a few thousand BTC worth millions earlier this year, the United States government is now one of the largest Bitcoin holders, with over 200,000 BTC valued at more than $5 billion.

According to a data analysis based on public filings, the crypto firm 21.co estimates that the U.S. government still possesses 194,188 BTC worth an estimated $5.3 billion.

According to the firm’s analysis, these are “lower-bound estimates of U.S. government holdings based on publicly available data.”

U.S. government Bitcoin holdings. Source: Dune

The analysis monitored the Bitcoin movement of U.S. government wallets associated with the three largest BTC seizures since 2020, including the Silk Road seizure of 69,369 BTC in November 2020, the Bitfinex Hack seizure of 94,643 BTC in January 2022, and the James Zhong seizure of 51,325 BTC in March 2022.

Key Bitcoin seizures by U.S. government. Source: Dune

The majority of the government’s bitcoins are stored offline in encrypted storage devices known as hardware wallets, which are managed by the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service.

In 2022, the United States government made two significant seizures. Not immediately do seized assets belong to the government.

The United States Marshals Service, the primary agency responsible for selling seized property, does not obtain possession of seized bitcoin until a court issues a final forfeiture judgment.

Periodically, the U.S. government also auctions off a portion of the seized bitcoin following court liquidation orders. The most notable government auction occurred in 2014, when billionaire Tim Draper purchased 30,000 bitcoins at U.S. government auctions.

In recent years, however, the U.S. government has turned to crypto exchanges to sell Bitcoin confiscated through public auctions.

One such transaction occurred in March of this year, when the government sold 9,118 BTC on Coinbase, as evidenced by a public filing.