U.S. Government Transfers Seized Bitcoin to Coinbase for Liquidation

U.S. Government Transfers Seized Bitcoin to Coinbase

The U.S. government recently executed a significant transfer of 58.742 bitcoin (BTC), valued at nearly $4 million, to the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase on Monday. This transaction, tracked by the blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, originated from an address identified as “U.S. Government: Ryan Farace Seized Funds”, specifically 3B2jEBZi8fJWGEDrh6Pe7hDMaJ6iGfFtaU.

The bitcoin in question was seized three years ago from Ryan Farace, who was convicted in 2018 for his role in the sale of Xanax pills on the dark web. In a related case, Ryan’s father, Joseph Farace, was also convicted for laundering and trafficking the bitcoin proceeds, which were intended for federal forfeiture. The Department of Justice ultimately recovered a total of 2,933 BTC from the father-son duo and announced plans to liquidate these holdings earlier this year in January.

The recent transfer of funds appears to be a step towards liquidation, as it has completely drained the bitcoin address associated with Ryan Farace’s seized funds. Notably, this amount represents less than 1% of bitcoin’s impressive 24-hour trading volume, which exceeds $35 billion, according to Coingecko.

Given this context, the potential liquidation of these funds through Coinbase is unlikely to have a significant adverse effect on the spot price of bitcoin. This is in contrast to the recent large-scale sale of BTC by Germany’s Saxony state, which sold 49,858 BTC between June 19 and July 12, causing the token’s spot price to dip as low as $53,500 at one point.

As of the latest data, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization is trading at approximately $67,450. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the U.S. government still retains a substantial holding of over 213,000 BTC, which is currently worth more than $14 billion.