The US government has moved to sell bitcoin tied to the Silk Road

According to blockchain data, the United States government may sell more of its massive Bitcoin (BTC) reserves, adding more selling pressure to the crypto market.

On-chain ZackXBT announced on Tuesday that government-controlled Bitcoin is moving a small transaction linked to Silk Road to Coinbase — the crypto exchange the government previously used to sell the coins. Soon after, the government wallet transferred 1,999 BTC to Coinbase Prime, worth $139 million at the time. The government's main address for Silk Road Bitcoin now holds 29,799 BTC, worth $1.96 billion at the time of writing. By the end of 2021, the government seized more than 50,000 BTC from the marketplace hacker James Zhong, which was linked to Silk Road. It started selling 9000 BTC last year including 9000 BTC sales last year. Government sales have had little noticeable impact on Bitcoin's price movements so far. The first sale of 9,861 BTC in March 2023 was a 25% increase in the price of Bitcoin before the DOJ officially announced the sale.