#CircleIPO How much Bitcoin does the U.S. hold and where did it come from?
🟠198,109 BTC worth $17.7bn is currently controlled by the U.S. Treasury, primarily from criminal and civil asset seizures
🟠According to Trump’s March 6 executive order, the strategic Bitcoin reserve will be funded through confiscated assets. Government agencies must conduct an audit to determine the actual holdings
Largest confiscations:
🟠69,370 BTC (Silk Road, 2020) – seized from hacker "Individual X," who surrendered stolen funds to authorities
🟠94,636 BTC (Bitfinex, 2022) – confiscated from Ilya Lichtenstein after private keys were found in a cloud storage account
🟠51,351 BTC (Silk Road, 2022) – discovered in a floor stash and popcorn tin belonging to hacker Jimmy Zhong
Will these BTC be sold?
🟠The U.S. government previously auctioned seized BTC, but the White House has now banned further sales
🟠The Treasury and Commerce Department will explore ways to expand the reserve without burdening taxpayers