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According to a recent Twitter post by crypto researcher “db,” the US government sold 9,800 Bitcoin (BTC) on March 14th, seized from criminals involved in illegal activities on the Silk Road website. At the time of the auction, the price of Bitcoin was approximately $26,000.
As per a court filing, the US Government sold 9,800 BTC during a recent transaction, valued at approximately $215 million. The US Government plans to sell another 41,500 BTC in connection with Silk Road, an online marketplace that facilitated illegal activities and was seized by law enforcement agencies in 2013.
US Government Bitcoin Sell-Off Will Trigger Another Price Drop?
According to “db” it is not clear whether the US government used a Coinbase time-weighted average price (TWAP) to determine the sale price on March 14th; this remains a possibility. Although it is more likely that the U.S. used an over-the-counter (OTC) transaction. The TWAP is a trading strategy that involves executing trades at regular intervals over a specified period to achieve an average price.
The transaction occurred on the crypto exchange Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US. Its TWAP trading strategy involves executing trades regularly over a specified period to achieve an average price.
Given Coinbase’s popularity and the US Government’s need for a reliable pricing mechanism, it is possible that they may use Coinbase’s TWAP again for the sale of the remaining 41,500 BTC connected to the Silk Road, which will be sold in four batches over the year
If there is no demand for Bitcoin when the US government sells the remaining 41,500 BTC in the market, it could lead to a drop in Bitcoin’s price, creating market volatility. If no buyers are willing to purchase at the offered price, it could lead to a temporary drop and delay BTC’s rally.
However, on March 14th, Bitcoin’s price was up and continued the trend afterward, indicating a strong demand for Bitcoin. Buyers were willing to pay a premium for the cryptocurrency.
US Government Subject Of A Fraud Involving The BTC Trade?
The crypto community has been speculating about the impact and the U.S. BTC trade. The crypto researcher and analyst under the pseudonym “CL” alleges that fraud may have been involved in the transaction.
CL believes that an “insider” may have corrupted the trade. According to him, on March 14th, Binance futures traded $14 billion worth of Bitcoin, indicating that the market was “extremely liquid then.” CL believes that even at the lowest price of the day, the US government should have received more than $240 million for the trade.
According to CL, there may have been fraudulent activity involved in the trade. CL suggests that an “insider” may have “corrupted” the transaction, resulting in a $30 million “slippage” in an over-the-counter (OTC) trade.
It is important to note that the sale of Bitcoin by the US Government could potentially impact the price of the cryptocurrency and the broader market. It remains to be seen how the market will react to the sale of such a large volume of Bitcoin.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com