Recently, after a long period of silence, there was increased activity in wallets linked to the US government, with billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin being transferred.
At this point, the transfer of approximately $1.54 billion worth of Bitcoin and Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) from US government-affiliated wallets to Coinbase Prime has raised concerns about a sell-off in the cryptocurrency market.
US Government’s $1.54 Billion Bitcoin Transfer: Sale or Custody Move?
However, according to an analysis by the analytics company K33 Research, the majority of these transfers are considered to be for safekeeping and asset management purposes rather than sales.
According to on-chain data, approximately 17,733 BTC and 750 WBTC were transferred in recent days. The total value of the Bitcoins is estimated at approximately $1.48 billion, while the WBTC is valued at $62 million, bringing the total transaction volume to $1.54 billion.
K33 Research also stated that when other wallets considered to be linked to the government are taken into account, the amount of Bitcoin reaching Coinbase Prime could rise to approximately 21,500 BTC.
While no official statement has been made regarding the transfers, K33 Research reported that they believe the majority of the transferred BTC were not sold.
“Coinbase Prime has been operating the US Police Department’s digital asset custody service since 2024. Therefore, it is highly likely that this transfer was made for asset custody purposes rather than a sale. Furthermore, considering transactions from unidentified wallets, we estimate the total transfer volume may have reached approximately 21,500 BTC.”
K33 Research stated that transfers alone are not sufficient to conclude that they will create strong selling pressure on the Bitcoin price, adding that the real determining factor for the market will be whether the transferred assets are actually put up for sale.
The company also noted that a significant portion of the transfers consisted of 12,267 BTC linked to the 2016 attack on the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange.
*This is not investment advice.
