The U.S. government has transferred $2 billion worth of Bitcoin, despite former President Donald Trump’s recent statement that the U.S. would never sell its Bitcoin holdings.
This transfer, consisting of 29,800 Bitcoin, was moved from a government wallet, which held assets seized from the Silk Road marketplace in 2022, to an unknown address on July 29.
The funds have since been transferred to another unknown wallet.
This move comes just days after Trump, speaking at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, made several pro-crypto promises.
He vowed that the U.S. government would retain its Bitcoin holdings and aimed to establish the U.S. as the “crypto capital of the world” through supportive policies, including the dismissal of Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler.
Additionally, Senator Cynthia Lummis announced legislation to designate Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset for the U.S. She proposed acquiring 5% of Bitcoin’s total supply to hold as a Treasury asset, likening it to a modern “Louisiana Purchase.”
Catherine Chen, Binance’s head of VIP and institutional, commented to Cointelegraph that the attention on Bitcoin from high-profile U.S. figures is a “positive sign” for the digital asset sector.
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“What is clearly meaningful is that politicians and prominent industry leaders are explicitly stating their positions, recognizing the value of Bitcoin in the monetary system, and making it clear that crypto is important on their agenda,” Chen noted.
She highlighted Binance’s Capital, People, Technology (CPT) Framework, which aims to advance the crypto market under these strategic reserves.
Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz criticized the government’s Bitcoin transfer, calling it “tone deaf.” Some speculate this transfer might relate to a July 1 agreement between Coinbase and the U.S. Marshals Service to manage government-held crypto assets.
The U.S. government currently holds $12 billion in Bitcoin, primarily from seizures. However, not everyone believes Bitcoin will become a strategic reserve asset.
BlockTower Capital’s Ari Paul estimated a 10% chance of this happening within the next four years, suggesting skepticism about this direction for Bitcoin in the U.S. policy landscape.
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