This week, Arkham Intelligence reported that criminals stole $20 million worth of cryptocurrencies, including USD Coin, Tether, USDC, and Ethereum, from U.S. government wallets.
“We believe the attackers have already begun laundering proceeds through suspicious addresses associated with money laundering services,” Arkham Intelligence said earlier this week.
The US government remains one of the largest holders of cryptocurrencies, with some estimates putting the amount of cryptocurrencies held by the government at more than 1% of the total Bitcoin supply. Most of the cryptocurrencies held by governments result from seizures by law enforcement.
Although the U.S. government typically does not disclose the size of its Bitcoin collection to the public, blockchain analysis firms regularly monitor transfers in cryptocurrency wallets believed to be affiliated with the government.
Governments have seized Bitcoin on several high-profile occasions, including the high-profile Silk Road scandal in 2013. During this operation, authorities shut down a notorious drug market and seized approximately 174,000 Bitcoins, later amassing more than $1 billion in Bitcoin holdings from Silk Road.
However, the U.S. government also regularly sells bitcoins seized during criminal investigations, with the majority of that cryptocurrency being auctioned off by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Earlier this year, former President Donald Trump pledged at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville not to sell any additional Bitcoin held by the U.S. government. President Trump said, “If elected, I am announcing that it will be the policy of my administration, the United States of America, to retain 100% of the Bitcoin currently held or acquired by the United States government.'' .
Nevertheless, President Trump's plan faced a major setback earlier this month when the US Supreme Court failed to hear a lawsuit over the ownership of more than $4.3 billion in Bitcoin related to the Silk Road scandal. The decision paves the way for the Biden administration to potentially sell Bitcoin.
