US Govt Cleared to Liquidate $6.5B in BTC from Silk Road, But Don’t Panic

On Jan. 9, crypto news feed DB News reported that “an official confirmed” the US government has been given the green light to liquidate 69,000 BTC worth around $6.5 billion from Silk Road seizures.

An unsourced screenshot read, “A federal judge ruled on Dec. 30 that the DoJ (Department of Justice) can sell 69,370 Bitcoin seized from the Silk Road darknet marketplace, officials confirmed.”

The US Govt has been given the greenlight to liquidate 69,000 BTC ($6.5B) from Silk Road, an official confirmed to DB News today

Interesting situation less than 2 weeks away from the new admin who vowed to not sell https://t.co/HqD1KnhJK3 pic.twitter.com/xn8ATSEL7H

— db (@tier10k) January 9, 2025

No Need to Panic

According to Arkham Intelligence, there was a sharp drop in BTC holdings at that address (bc1qa), which fell to zero on Jan. 8.

It also showed the latest transaction from that address on Jan. 9 of just $0.51 worth of BTC and still reports the balance being valued at $6.5 billion.

However, Blockchain.com’s explorer showed that the balance is unchanged and remains at 69,370 BTC.

Crypto influencer ‘@trading_axe’ told his 80,000 followers on X that “the seized BTC that was meant to be used for a ‘strategic reserve’ under the Trump administration was sold off already, with a credit line sanctioned by Coinbase.”

“They spent months distributing and couldn’t mention it because Kamala was running against Trump. The liberals needed to maintain a ‘positive image’ and desperately needed crypto voters. THERE IS NO BITCOIN LEFT TO SELL.”

Crypto commentator ‘MartyParty’ also said, “It’s already happened. No need to FUD.”

Meanwhile, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes quipped, “My diamond hands are ready to buy the f**king dip. Send it to goblin town slow Joe!!!” and Max Keiser ran a poll.

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju observed that last year, $379 billion entered the market based on a realized cap, which is roughly $1 billion per day.

“The U.S. govt selling $6.5 billion could be absorbed in just a week. Do not panic.”

Last year, $379B entered the market based on realized cap—roughly $1B per day.

The U.S. govt selling $6.5B could be absorbed in just a week.

Do not panic. https://t.co/MTCTKmM5uZ

— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) January 9, 2025

Bitcoin Price Reaction

Bitcoin prices have been falling back for the past couple of days after it reclaimed the six-figure level briefly on Jan. 7.

There was no immediate reaction to this ‘news,’ and the asset was down 2% on the day at $94,050 at the time of writing after falling to an intraday low of $92,500 on Wednesday.

BTC has returned to its rangebound channel, where it has been consolidating since mid-November. Panic selling may commence if it falls below the bottom band of that channel at $90,000.