U.S. government's passive acquisition of Bitcoin results in largest state-owned hoard.
The U.S. government is one of the world's largest holders of Bitcoin, with a stash of ~200,000 BTC worth ~$5 billion, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The government has acquired this Bitcoin through seizures from darknet activities, and it is the largest such state-owned hoard. However, unlike other crypto whales, the government does not care if the digital currency goes up or down in value.
The legal protocols around seized assets dictate that the government cannot lay claim to these holdings until granted a final forfeiture order. It has been reluctant to part with its Bitcoin, and that may represent inertia more than strategy.
The U.S. government has disposed of some Bitcoin holdings, offloading $366.5 million worth in 11 auctions from 2014-2023. However, it apparently never bought Bitcoin, so while there might have been a conscious decision to keep most of it, the acquisitions were passive.
Source: jlopp.github.io/us-marshals-bitcoin-auctions/
The U.S. government's reluctance to sell its Bitcoin holdings has resulted in over $5 billion worth of potential appreciation lost by not holding it through today, according to Lopp's data.
The government's decision to hold onto the rest of the Bitcoin may be due to the love-hate dynamic it has with cryptocurrencies. From the increasingly ferocious federal crackdown on the cryptocurrency business, it might appear it cannot stand digital currencies. However, the government's acquisition of Bitcoin through seizures from darknet activities suggests that it sees value in the digital currency.
