- According to data from Dune, the United States government owns more than 205,000 BTC, which have a value of more than $5.55 billion dollars from seizures.
Bitcoin, created by Satoshi Nakamoto, was born as an alternative to the traditional economic system and although it was initially looked down upon by that sector, its growth in popularity made it attract attention. The United States, for example, today appears as a key player…
Digital gold promises to compete on an equal footing with the US dollar and from the bowels of the most important government they know it very well, pFor that reason, they have done nothing but accumulate BTC: they have more than MicroStrategy and Tesla combined.
The data delivered by Dune are surprising and in accordance with these, andhe country governed by Joe Biden has more than 205,000 BTC, which is just over 1% of the current circulating supply, with a value of more than $5.55 billion dollars. The figure was higher, but at the beginning of March of this year they have sent 9,860 BTC to Coinbase.
How did USA get this amount of BTC?
Is this bought? It’s not proceeds of seizures what the authorities did.
The first major case of confiscation of funds occurred on November 3, 2020 when the defendant named “Individual X”, linked to the Dark Web marketplace Silk Road, agreed to “relinquish all assets as part of a settlement with the authorities”, as the site described Bitcoinist. The United States added 69,369 BTC to its coffers.
They later managed to get hold of 94,636 BTC related to the famous hack of the Bitfinex centralized exchange. carried out in 2016. On that occasion, the computer criminals, identified as Ilya Lichtenstein (tech entrepreneur) and Heather Morgan (columnist for the prestigious Forbes magazine), they stole close to 120,000 BTC.
That seizure, as described by the United States Department of Justice, was the largest in history, with a valuation at the time of $4 billion dollars. Today that amount is around $3.2 billion dollars.
Another important name that fed the coffers of the United States is James Zhong, who like the Individual X had a large stake in Silk Road, the well-known Dark Web marketplace. The Justice raided his home and seized more than 51,326 BTC generated with illegal trade.
“Although Bitcoin is pseudonymous, it can also be abused by malicious actors and used as a tool for money laundering and terrorist financing. And the government’s growing holdings of Bitcoin reflect the success of authorities in dealing with bad actors and providing respite for victims.”, assured the aforementioned medium.
The US has more BTC than the leading companies
The fact that the United States has more than MicroStrategy means a lot just as the company led by Michael Saylor announced that it has bought more Bitcoin. The company acquired 6,455 BTC, at an average price of $23,238, in order to reach a total of 138,955. His funds are worth $3.8 billion.
For its part, Tesla, a company that belongs to Elon Musk, has a capital of 10,725 BTC. If Galaxy Digital Holdings (40,000) and Voyager Digital LTD (12,260) are added to this formula, they do not reach the number that the United States adds.
In short: the four companies that have the most BTC do not reach the funds seized by the US government.
What would happen if the country decides to go out and sell BTC? This will probably not happen, at least in the short term, although it is an option to be analyzed.
You might be interested in: