by Wilfred Samuel 
Following the recent surge in Bitcoin’s price, the U.S. government executed its biggest BTC transaction within the past year. The government transferred 15,000 bitcoins worth almost $1 billion on Wednesday, leaving Bitcoiners questioning where the fund is headed.
The source of the fund, however, is widely known. In August 2016, the popular cryptocurrency exchange Bifinex was the victim of a hack of 119,756 bitcoins worth around $72 million at the time and $7.4 billion currently.
Further in 2022, Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife, a New York couple pleaded guilty to the hack and money laundering. Since the plea, the US government has seized and retained a fraction of the stolen bitcoins from the couple.
What Will the Government Do With the Transferred Bitcoins?
The US government never holds withheld bitcoins as investments, nor do they have the intention to instantly sell all seized bitcoins as this move may affect the market price of bitcoin. This makes it difficult to discern what will be the next move with the recently transferred 15,000 bitcoins.
Many think the government wants to sell or swap the transferred bitcoin. However, there is no certainty yet, so, everyone awaits an official announcement, or a significant market move to discern what the government will do or has done with the recently transacted amount.
In the meantime, the transferred amount has not impacted the current market price of bitcoin. The leading cryptocurrency still displays a bullish trend, staying above $60,000 within the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government reportedly holds over 200,000 bitcoins that were acquired between 2020 and 2022. The funds came from three main seizures, namely the Silk Road seizure in 2020, and the Bitfinex and James Zhong seizure in 2022, with the Bitfinex seizure being the largest.
