US Government’s Silk Road Bitcoin on the Move: A $2 Billion Shuffle

The
United
States
Department
of
Justice
is
once
again
transferring
its
stash
of
Bitcoin,
this
time
involving
funds
believed
to
be
connected
to
the
notorious
Silk
Road
marketplace.
According
to
blockchain
data,
a
wallet
tagged
with
the
department’s
name
initiated
a
transfer
to
what
is
presumed
to
be
a
Coinbase
exchange
address
on
Tuesday
morning.

US
Government
Transfers
Silk
Road-Linked
Bitcoin:
A
$2
Billion
Maneuver

The
transaction
involved
a
test
transfer
of
0.001
BTC
(approximately
$69),
followed
by
a
substantial
movement
of
around
2,000
BTC,
valued
at
$131.27
million.
This
activity
was
noted
by
pseudonymous
blockchain
analyst
ZachXBT
on
Twitter/X,
who
identified
the
recipient
as
a

Coinbase
deposit
address.

Update:
1999
BTC
($139M)
transferred
to
the
same
Coinbase
Prime
deposit
address

txn
hash
b614dd2e0fa06d776ee4d45973fab5ceb6e2dfebfb84e5f7bd45ef0975455240

—
ZachXBT
(@zachxbt)

April
2,
2024

Further
analysis
by

Arkham
Intelligence,
a
platform
that
monitors
blockchain
transactions,
indicates
that
the
Bitcoin,
part
of
a
$2
billion
cache,
was
moved
to
Coinbase
Prime.
Despite
this
recent
activity,
the
majority
of
the
seized
Bitcoin
remains
unspent
as
per
the
latest
transaction
data.

The
federal
government
occasionally
relocates
Bitcoin
seized
from
criminal
activities,
sometimes
with
the
intention
of
selling
it.
In
January,
the
government
revealed
plans
to
auction
off
2,933
BTC,
worth
about
$133.5
million
at
the
time,
but
also
provided
a
60-day
window
for
non-defendants
to
claim
an

interest
in
the
cryptocurrency.
The
recent
transfer
could
be
related
to
the
anticipated
sale
of
these
assets.

This
is
not
the
first
time
authorities
have
seized
a
significant
amount
of
Bitcoin
related
to
the
Silk
Road.
In
November
2021,
they
confiscated
$3.36
billion
worth
of
BTC
following
hacker
James
Zhong’s
admission
of
stealing
digital
assets
from
the
illicit
marketplace,
which
was
known
for
facilitating
crypto
transactions
for
drugs
and
other
illegal
goods.

Movements
of
large

Bitcoin
holdings
by
prominent
entities,
such
as
the
US
government,
are
closely
monitored
by
the
Bitcoin
community.
Past
transactions,
or
even
rumored
ones,
have
led
to
fluctuations
in
Bitcoin’s
price
as
market
observers
anticipate
potential
sales.

Slothana:
The
New
Face
of
Solana
Meme
Coins
Following
Slerf’s
Footsteps

Slerf,
a
Solana-based
meme
coin,
recently
captured
the
market’s
attention
for
all
the
wrong
reasons,
primarily
due
to
a
developer’s
error
that
removed
allocated
tokens
from
the
liquidity
pool.
This
incident
inadvertently
paved
the
way
for
the
emergence
of
new
cryptocurrencies
featuring
similar
sloth-themed
imagery,
with
Slothana
being
the
first
and
latest
to
enter
the
scene.

Unlike
Slerf,
Slothana
brings
a
different
style
to
the
table.
The
sloth
depicted
on
its
homepage
is
not
just
a
simple
sketch
but
a
detailed
illustration
of
an
office
worker
with
red
eyes,
seemingly
overworked
and
dreaming
of
escaping
the
mundane
9-to-5
routine
by
diving
into
the
meme
coin
frenzy.

Slothana’s
official
Twitter
page
further
elaborates
on
this
character,
portraying
him
as
a
frequently
inebriated
individual
yearning
for
a
change.
As
for
the
token
itself,
Slothana
maintains
a
straightforward
approach.
It
doesn’t
promise
long-term
growth
or
significant
profits;
instead,
it
focuses
on
providing
fun
and
keeping
its
tokenomics
and
other
aspects
shrouded
in
mystery.

Visit
Slothana

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