US Government DUMPING Bitcoin?! What's Going on?!
The US Government is Selling Bitcoin
This transcript discusses the US government's recent sale of Bitcoin and how they acquired it.
Silk Road and the US Government's Acquisition of Bitcoin
- The US government acquired their Bitcoins by confiscating them from the Silk Road.
- Silk Road was a darknet marketplace where you could buy almost anything using Bitcoin. It played a key role in the evolution of Bitcoin from an anonymous cypherpunk's dream to the global phenomenon it is today.
- When the feds shut down Silk Road, they found themselves in possession of around 144,000 BTC worth around $28.5 million.
- These coins were then auctioned off in various batches by the U.S Marshals service in 2014. 30,000 of them were famously snapped up by billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper for around $19 million dollars.
- An American user from Georgia named James Young was able to steal himself a little over 50,000 BTC from Silk Road back in 2012. He found quite by chance that he was able to exploit a basic flaw in the site's withdrawal function and become an overnight whale.
The US Government's Sale of Bitcoin
- The government is currently selling just under 10,000 BTC through Coinbase netting a little over $200 million dollars.
- They plan to sell another forty-one and a half thousand coins in batches over the course of this year as is now customary whenever something big comes up for sale.
- This latest sale is being done through Coinbase rather than via auction as has often been the case in the past and this has many worrying that bitcoin's price may be impacted by the selling especially given the lack of liquidity and depth in the market right now.
- Coinbase will be working with U.S authorities to either sell the Bitcoin or transfer it to another wallet.
Missed Profits by the US Government
This section discusses how the US government's decision to sell during market downturns has resulted in missed profits.
Missed Profits
- The US government's decision to sell during market downturns has resulted in missed profits of over 5 billion dollars.
- American taxpayers are the ones who should be upset about this missed opportunity.
- It is important to hold onto assets during market downturns and not have "paper hands" like Uncle Sam.