On Monday, the U.S. government transferred 58.742 bitcoin (BTC), valued at nearly $4 million, to Coinbase (COIN), as reported by blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence.
The bitcoin originated from an address labeled “U.S. Government: Ryan Farace Seized Funds” and identified on-chain as 3B2jEBZi8fJWGEDrh6Pe7hDMaJ6iGfFtaU. These funds were confiscated three years ago from Ryan Farace, who was convicted in 2018 for selling Xanax pills on the dark web.
Subsequently, Ryan’s father, Joseph Farace, was also convicted for laundering and trafficking bitcoin proceeds intended for federal forfeiture. The Department of Justice recovered 2,933 BTC from the father-son duo and announced plans to liquidate these holdings in January of this year.
The recent transfer, likely aimed at liquidation, has emptied the Ryan Farace seized funds address. This transfer represents less than 1% of bitcoin’s 24-hour trading volume, which exceeds $35 billion, according to Coingecko.
Therefore, liquidating these funds through Coinbase is unlikely to significantly impact the spot price of bitcoin. This is in contrast to the recent sale by Germany’s Saxony state, which sold 49,858 BTC between June 19 and July 12, causing the token’s spot price to drop as low as $53,500. As of now, bitcoin is trading at $67,450.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government continues to hold over 213,000 BTC, valued at over $14 billion.
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