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Over $7.2 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) is still controlled by the U.S. government, but its losses are mounting.
data The total number of bitcoins seized in Washington as of October 31 was 210,429 bitcoins, according to on-chain analytics firm Glassnode.
195,000 BTC sold, $6.3 billion loss
The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are known (perhaps unintentionally) as one of the largest Bitcoin whales in the world.
Over the years, lawmakers have confiscated large amounts of Bitcoin through various legal proceedings, with only a fraction of it being resold at auction.
Those who chose to buy the gains have made handsome profits, and in an even more ironic twist, the U.S. Department of Justice – more like a Bitcoin newbie than a whale – is guilty of selling too early.
according to Statistical data A report compiled by Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Bitcoin custodian company Casa, shows that the government has missed out on potential gains totaling $6,323,203,004 by dumping 195,092 Bitcoins so far.
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Aside from Satoshi Nakamoto, no single entity owns more Bitcoins than the U.S. Department of Justice. For example, the largest corporate BTC vault owned by MicroStrategy currently holds 158,245 BTC ($5.43 billion) each. data From Monitoring Source Bitcoin Treasury.
heavy bitcoin bag
Glassnode shows that DOJ stashes increase with seizure announcements.
Related: Nearly 40 Million Bitcoin Addresses Are Now Profitable—A New Record
In early 2022, its inventory grew by nearly 100,000 BTC (worth $3.6 billion at the time) as legal action was taken against individuals accused of trying to launder proceeds from the 2016 hack of major cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex.
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Meanwhile, billionaire Tim Draper, one of the original Bitcoin auction bidders, recently accused the U.S. government of stifling the growth of cryptocurrencies.
Draper previously predicted that BTC prices would reach $250,000 in 2022, and later claimed that policy failure was “killing Silicon Valley’s golden goose.”
“Regulations kill innovators,” read one X post in May.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading activity involves risks, and readers should do their own research when making decisions.
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