Financial attorney Scott Johnsson has expressed his belief that the US Marshal Service is “almost certainly” selling Silk Road Bitcoin. The speculation comes after a series of BTC transfers to a custodial address, as outlined in a June service agreement between the USMS and Coinbase.
Johnsson noted that, under the agreement, USMS assets must remain completely segregated. The movement of funds is in line with that provision, further fueling speculation that the government intends to liquidate the seized Bitcoin in the near future.
“Every time a transfer occurs to Coinbase Prime (or any other aggregated exchange address), you can be sure that USMS has already sold it or will soon sell it,” Johnsson said.
Johnsson argued that USMS would announce the sale at an appropriate time, likely in the DOJ’s FY2024 report. He also highlighted the political dimension of the move, noting that the transaction appeared to be expedited following Trump’s appearance at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville.
One of Trump’s key points was his plan to establish a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” and stop selling government-held BTC. Many have suggested that Trump’s chances could be better if he keeps this intention a secret until he eventually becomes president again, should he be elected.
“It will be the policy of my administration… to retain 100% of all Bitcoins currently owned or acquired by the U.S. government in the future. This will serve as the core of a strategic national bitcoin reserve… These [Bitcoins] have been taken from you,” Trump said.
Some crypto advocates are optimistic about the Trump administration’s prospects. But figures like Raoul Pal, a former Goldman Sachs executive, have reservations about the government’s Bitcoin reserves.
In a discussion with SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci, Pal highlighted the government’s long history of abuse of power, raising concerns about the impact such a reserve could have on Bitcoin. Critics argue that such centralized control could go against the principles of decentralization that Bitcoin is built on. They worry that the move could undermine the original vision of the cryptocurrency.
“It could be a positive thing for the crypto market because there are additional buyers. But it also feels odd because Bitcoin was originally created to try to replace government control of money, and now you have governments becoming one of the biggest buyers of private money. I don’t like that… If governments can manipulate it, they can dump it into the market. They can buy more, and before we know it, they start using it like an interest rate on regular money, and that’s not something we want,” Pal said.