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INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES NEWSLETTER SIGNUP My account Log Out Oct 25, 11:14 AM EDT World U.S. Economy & Markets Companies Technology Digital Life Culture Sports Opinion NEWSLETTER My account Log Out US Edition World U.S. Economy & Markets Companies Technology Digital Life Culture Sports Opinion Listings & More Spotlight Glossary Editions Australia Edition India Edition International Edition Singapore Edition United Kingdom United States NEWSLETTER Follow Us Editions Australia Edition India Edition International Edition Singapore Edition United Kingdom United States Crypto Crypto Business US Government Loses Out On More Than $100M Due To Premature Sale Of Bitcoin Stash By Nica Osorio @nicaIBTimes 10/25/23 AT 11:14 AM EDT Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit Share on Flipboard Reuters KEY POINTS The United States government is considered a Bitcoin whale, with an estimate of around 200,000 BTC In March, the government sold 9,861 BTC worth approximately $216 million at $21,904 per Bitcoin BTC was trading in the red zone at $34,378.37 as of 7:18 a.m. ET on Wednesday The U.S. government, which has become one of the largest Bitcoin holders over the years, missed out on more than $100 million in gains due to the premature sale of its trove. The U.S. government is considered a Bitcoin whale, with an estimate of around 200,000 BTC, worth approximately over $5 billion. Recent data analysis made by crypto firm 21.co , based on public filings, estimated that the U.S. government is still in possession of 194,188 BTC, which was worth around $5.3 billion. The crypto firm underlined that its analyses were "lower-bound estimations of the U.S. government holdings based on publicly available information." But, the cost was based on Bitcoin's price, which at the time was trading below the $30,000 price level. In March, the government sold 9,861 BTC worth approximately $216 million at $21,904 per Bitcoin. The sale was made to Coinbase, one of the world's largest centralized crypto exchange platforms by trading volume, as confirmed by a public filing . This week , the kind of crypto rallied and its price skyrocketed to as high as $35,200. If the government had sold the same number of Bitcoin at an average price of $35,000, it could have raked in $345,135,000, which meant it missed around $129,135,000 worth of gain because of the premature sale. Over the past years, the government has made significant Bitcoin seizures -- 69,369 BTC confiscated in November 2020 from Silk Road , 94,643 BTC from the Bitfinex hack in January 2022, and 51,326 BTC from James Zhong -- the American convicted last year for stealing more than 50,000 Bitcoin from the online black market Silk Road between 2012 and 2014. On court liquidation orders, the government sells a chunk of its Bitcoin stash via auctions. The most notable sale was made in 2014 when billionaire Tim Draper bought 30,000 BTC from the government. BTC was trading in the red zone at $34,378.37 as of 7:18 a.m. ET on Wednesday, with a 24-hour trading volume down by 37.34% at $31.25 -- representing a 1.05% decrease in the last 24 hours and a 20.7% gain over the past seven days. BTC's total circulating supply stands at 19,523,425 BTC, with its value down by 1.49% at a $669.92 billion market cap, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Read more BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Returns On DTCC After Vanishing, But There's A Slight Change Bitcoin Uptrend Just Starting, BTC Breaking $31K Is An 'Air Pocket To $39K': Blockchain Analyst Wood's Ark Invest Surprises Crypto Market By Buying Robinhood, Selling Coinbase, GBTC Shares Bitcoin © Copyright IBTimes 2023. All rights reserved. Join the Discussion MOST READ IN Crypto 1 Shytoshi Kusama Teases Shib Army, Spills Plan For Doge-Killer LEASH 2 Web3 Companies Are Bringing The Best Of Web2 Along For The Ride 3 WLD Sinks After Worldcoin Moves To Replaces USDC With Native Crypto For Orb Operator Payment 4 Bitcoin Hits 7-Day Double Digit Gain As It Surges To Over $30K 5 FTX Wallets Move Over $10M In Crypto To Wintermute; What's Going On? NEWS World U.S. Economy & Markets Companies Technology Digital Life Culture Sports Opinion Featured Social Capital Glossary SMB Forum Spotlight Crypto K-Wave ABOUT About Us Contact us Advertise with us Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Editions United States Australia Brazil Colombia France Germany Indonesia India International Italy Editions Japan Nigeria Singapore South Africa South Korea Spain Mexico United Kingdom FOLLOW US Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Newsletter © Copyright 2023 IBTimes LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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