Bitcoin (BTC) Has Run Into a Huge Headwind, as the U.S. Justice Department Recently Received Clearance to Sell a Massive Chunk of Around 69,000 $BTC, Seized from the Silk Road Marketplace. What Will the Potential Impact Be of

The U.S. Justice Department has recently been given clearance to sell a gargantuan parcel of around 69,370 BTC, which at today’s prices is equivalent to around $6.48 billion. This is an even bigger amount than the 50,000 BTC that the German government sold in June and July of 2024.

However, it’s not expected that the DOJ will sanction a sell off in the same manner as the German Government, which dumped big chunks of BTC directly onto the market, and sold off the whole amount in just three weeks.

Instead, the U.S. Marshals Service will authorise Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) to carry out the sale. Coinbase would be likely to sell the BTC in an orderly manner by OTC, hopefully without causing too much impact on the spot price of Bitcoin.

The current fall in the price of Bitcoin is probably just a knee-jerk reaction to the news, rather than any sales impacting the market. The news comes on the heels of a market that was already coming down due to strong jobs figures bolstering the US dollar and driving it up, while sending risk assets in the opposite direction.