The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has secured final approval in the Northern District Court of California to auction off roughly $6.5 billion worth of Bitcoin seized from the infamous Silk Road dark web marketplace. The ruling marks a decisive end to a complex four-year legal dispute over the ownership of this BTC haul. This is an interesting situation as it comes just 10 days from Donald Trump’s inauguration. The incoming president previously vowed not to sell the U.S. government’s BTC stash. Could US Government’s BTC Dump Tank Crypto Prices? According to a Dec. 30 court filing, Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg denied a motion to block the forfeiture of 69,370 Bitcoin, thus clearing the Department of Justice to offload the $6.5 billion assets. The move has sparked market fears of potential selling pressure on BTC prices. A similar event happened last year when the German Government sold around 50,000 BTC . However, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju has urged investors not to panic. “Last year, $379B entered the market based on realized cap — roughly $1B per day,” wrote Young Ju, adding that the U.S. government’s $6.5 billion sale could be absorbed by the market “in just a week.” In recent months, the U.S. government has moved around massive portions of Bitcoin from Silk Road-affiliated wallets. On December 3, 2024, for instance, the U.S. government sent nearly $2 billion in Silk Road Bitcoin to Coinbase. The U.S. Marshals Service, a division of the DOJ, currently has a custody agreement with Coinbase Prime, so the exchange may have merely been holding the coins for the government. Trump Government To Buy Back BTC At Higher Prices? The move by the American government to sell the Bitcoin seized by law enforcement has raised serious questions following the November election. During the campaign trail, incoming president Donald Trump pledged not to sell any of the 198,109 BTC that is still in possession by the U.S. government, according to Arkham Intelligence data. Some commentators believe the current Biden-Harris regime may dump all government-owned BTC in a politically-driven move just before Trump returns to the White House. Fox Business contributor Jason Williams contended that the Biden administration is directing the Department of Justice to liquidate thousands of BTC during a market rally while completely aware that the forthcoming Trump government may purchase it back at much higher prices: “This is an absolute injustice and perversion of the fiduciary responsibility we charge the government with. We are selling these Bitcoin for 94k approx. What price will Trump buy them back at??? Higher.” Meanwhile, while the U.S. preps to sell its BTC stash, other nations like El Salvador and Bhutan are officially accumulating the bellwether crypto as a strategic reserve asset.
