US Government Resumes Bitcoin Shuffling, Sending 10k BTC to Coinbase Prime for Custody

After halting for almost four months, the US government has resumed Bitcoin shuffling, sending a substantial amount to the Coinbase Prime wallet address.

The United States government has resumed its Bitcoin shuffling after halting the activity for almost four months, sending a substantial amount to the Coinbase Prime wallet address.

According to Arkham's data, a wallet linked to the US government moved 19,800 BTC to a Coinbase Prime wallet on Monday by 16:27 (UTC). At the time of the transfer, the funds were valued at $1.92 billion, averaging $96,969 per bitcoin.

The US government wallet address moved the funds to an intermediary route before ultimately sending them to the largest crypto exchange in the US. However, further analysis shows the funds were part of the spoils from the US government's Silk Road marketplace crackdown.

Notably, in October, the Supreme Court gave the United States the green light to sell the seized 69,370 BTC tokens. Following the transaction, the US government now holds 198,109 BTC, valued at $19 billion. The country's wallet address also contains a substantial amount of Ethereum, USDT, and BNB.

The Monday transaction raised skepticism among some, with البعض questioning whether the funds are being sold through over-the-counter (OTC) transactions. However, on-chain tracker Spotonchain suggests that the shuffle could be for another purpose.

In an update today, the platform noted that the 10,000 BTC sent to Coinbase were for custody actions rather than the widely speculated asset dump.

Spotonchain's analysis aligns with the US Marshals Service's announcement in July, stating that it has selected Coinbase Prime as a custody provider for its “Class 1” cryptocurrencies. The leading exchange will provide custody and trading services for the agency's digital assets.

Meanwhile, the Bitcoin price dropped from an intraday high of $98,171 to its current market price following the transaction. The premier asset trades at $95,219, showing a slight decrease of less than 1% in the past 24 hours.