– The US government is estimated to hold over 200,000 BTC worth more than $5 billion, making it one of the largest Bitcoin holders.
– This estimation is based on three major seizures linked to the Bitfinex hack and Silk Road, suggesting that the actual holdings could be even larger.
– The government keeps its Bitcoin stash primarily offline in encrypted storage devices known as hardware wallets.
– The US government has made significant seizures in 2022, but seized assets do not immediately belong to the government. They are only received by the U.S. Marshals Service after a court issues a definitive forfeiture judgment.
– The government has previously sold seized Bitcoin through auctions, but in recent years, it has turned to crypto exchanges for sales.
– In March 2022, the government sold 9,118 BTC on Coinbase through a public filing.
– The analysis by crypto firm 21.co provides lower-bound estimations of the US government’s Bitcoin holdings based on publicly available information.