The United States government has quietly become one of the largest Bitcoin holders in the world, with on-chain data showing it currently controls about 316,760 BTC, valued at roughly $35.9 billion, according to a new analysis from blockchain intelligence firm CryptoQuant.
The report, first highlighted by Blockchain. News and Bitget suggest that the U.S. government’s Bitcoin holdings now surpass those of major institutional investors and even some crypto-native companies. The holdings represent assets seized from criminal cases and darknet operations, including the infamous Silk Road marketplace and other high-profile investigations conducted by U.S. law enforcement agencies.
While the government has occasionally auctioned parts of its seized Bitcoin, most of the holdings remain in custody with agencies such as the U.S. Marshals Service and the Department of Justice. Blockchain analysts tracking wallet activity tied to these agencies note that the government has maintained a pattern of holding rather than selling large portions of its Bitcoin, possibly to avoid disrupting market stability.
CryptoQuant’s data attributes the holdings to three main sources: assets confiscated from cybercrime cases, funds recovered from illegal trading operations, and tokens obtained through forfeiture programs. Although these wallets are not publicly confirmed by the U.S. government, their transaction patterns and addresses have been matched with known seizure records, giving analysts high confidence in the estimate.
At current market prices, this makes the U.S. government one of the largest sovereign holders of Bitcoin globally, rivalling the reserves of publicly traded firms like MicroStrategy and outpacing the holdings of many Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Industry experts argue that these holdings could position the U.S. uniquely in global digital asset policy discussions, giving it both leverage and insight into the broader crypto economy. However, the government’s silence on whether it plans to retain or liquidate these assets continues to fuel speculation.
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