US Govt Moves 4,000 Bitcoin: Looming Sell-off or Nothingburger?

• The US Govt has made a significant Bitcoin transfer.
• The move adds to already mounting downward pressure on the asset’s price.
• An expert analyst has weighed in on the potential price impact should the government decide to sell.

Bitcoin ‘s price has been under significant selling pressure over the past week amid dumps by the German government and news of an impending Mt. Gox distribution .

Amid the market jitters, the US government has turned on the heat with a mammoth Bitcoin transfer to Coinbase Prime. Will this be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back as Bitcoin struggles to hold above $60,000?

US Govt Rocks the Boat

The US government has increased selling pressure on Bitcoin. On Wednesday, June 26, several on-chain analysts reported that a government-linked wallet had sent 3,940 BTC worth over $240 million to Coinbase Prime in one fell swoop.

According to Arkham Intelligence, the transferred assets were seized from a Silk Road-linked narcotics trafficker, Banmeet Singh, in January 2024. Singh received a five-year sentence for his crimes on April 19 in addition to forfeiting his cryptocurrency holdings.

The recent asset transfer represents the US government’s first Bitcoin move since March 2023, when it sold over 9,800 BTC worth about $215 million at the time from a stash of 50,000 coins related to a hack of the Silk Road website.

Unsurprisingly, like previous instances, the government’s latest transfer has stirred market uncertainty, especially as it still holds over 213,000 BTC worth over $13 billion.

A Nothingburger?

An expert analyst has weighed in on the potential price impact should the government decide to sell. In an X post on Wednesday , CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju argued that a decision to sell the transferred Bitcoin would not impact the market. The analyst expressed this view, citing the sell-side volume typically handled by Coinbase Prime.

"US gov't sold 4K #Bitcoin today, but less likely to impact the market. Coinbase Prime handled 20-49K BTC in sell-side liquidity daily during high spot ETF inflows and 6-15K daily during low spot ETF inflows. Posting this because I'm tired of 'gov't selling' FUDs," he wrote.

Meanwhile, the asset’s price chart appears to support a significant price rally in the short term, according to prominent market analyst “IncomeSharks.” The analyst shared a chart shortly after the US government’s Bitcoin transfer that showed the asset was bouncing off the bottom of a major higher timeframe trend line.

Despite sell-off concerns around the government transfer, Bitcoin continues to trade at around the $61,000 price point at $60,987 per CoinMarketCap data at the time of writing.

On the Flipside

• Whether the government intends to sell the 3,940 BTC has yet to be confirmed.
• Bitcoin’s price is holding steady at the time of writing.

Why This Matters

Bitcoin has been under significant selling pressure in the past week. Against this backdrop, a massive transfer from the US government raises questions of a potential price breakdown.

Read this for more on the recent bitcoin selling pressure:
German Government Shifts $46.3M Bitcoin to Multiple Addresses

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