The U.S. government moved 12,267 Bitcoin—valued at over $1 billion—from a government-linked wallet on October 8, according to blockchain analysis. The assets originate from the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
Some of these coins were sent to Coinbase Prime, an institutional trading platform. The movement follows roughly $670 million in other crypto transfers from government-linked wallets over the preceding 24 hours.
Bitcoin currently trades at $80,889, down 3.0 percent over the past 24 hours. Transfers of this size to institutional exchanges typically precede over-the-counter sales, which can introduce significant selling pressure.
No direct sale has been confirmed. The government has previously seized and liquidated crypto assets linked to illicit activities, including other tranches from the Bitfinex hack. For holders, the risk is immediate: a large block sale could trigger sharp downside action.
These movements represent a significant portion of the total Bitcoin supply associated with the Bitfinex hack, originally 119,754 BTC. Past liquidations have used various channels to minimize market impact, but movement to an exchange is a concrete signal traders must monitor.
