Crypto Twitter abuzz with speculation that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) greenlighted the sale of 69K Bitcoins [BTC], worth $6.5B, seized from Silk Road

Multiple reports surfaced on Monday, indicating that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) authorized the sale of 69K Bitcoins (BTC), valued at $6.5 billion, that were seized from the defunct darknet marketplace Silk Road.

The latest development was initially shared by media publisher DB News, which cited an official from the U.S. government.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) dated Jan. 9, the publisher shared the following update:

“The U.S. Govt has been given the greenlight to liquidate 69,000 BTC ($6.5B) from Silk Road, an official confirmed to DB News today. Interesting situation less than 2 weeks away from the new admin who vowed to not sell.”

The report comes amid speculation that President-elect Donald Trump may establish a U.S. Bitcoin (BTC) strategic reserve (SBR) using the seized BTC, which has been a topic of discussion within the crypto community.

Some community members speculated that the seized BTC had already been sold through a ‘credit line.’ One user claimed,

“The “seized BTC” that was meant to be used for a ‘strategic reserve’ [under the Trump administration] was sold off already, with a credit line sanctioned by Coinbase.”

Others flagged the update as FUD. In fact, Arkham data showed no balance decline in wallets linked to seized BTC at press time.

However, if true, the sale could happen before Trump’s presidential inauguration. According to some market experts, even such a scenario wouldn’t massively detour BTC.

Glassnode founders clarified that such a sale wouldn’t happen through exchanges but through OTC (over-the-counter) markets. So, it won’t suppress the king coin.

On his part, CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju downplayed the panic, reinforcing that the potential $6.5B sell-off could be smoothly absorbed by the market. He said,

“Last year, $379B entered the market based on realized cap — roughly $1B per day. The U.S. govt selling $6.5B could be absorbed in just a week. Do not panic.”

All said, prediction sites like Polymarket and Kalshi priced a +40% chance of a U.S. BTC strategic reserve in 2025.

However, at press time, the odds of that happening in the first 100 days of the new administration declined from 34% to 27%.