Blockchain analysts at CryptoQuant have confirmed previous rumors that the U.S. government sold another large batch of bitcoins linked to the defunct darknet marketplace, Silk Road.
In a report, the company stated that the U.S. government sold 8,200 bitcoins seized from Silk Road hacker James Zhong on July 12.
The amount is slightly below earlier estimates, as it was previously indicated that the government moved around 9,826 bitcoins from its known wallets. This is also less than the government’s first confirmed sale of 9,861 bitcoins for $216 million in March.
Most of the bitcoins were moved in a single transaction of 9,319, with 8,200 bitcoins sent to one address and 1,119 bitcoins to another.
– The previous address forwarded 8,200 bitcoins to various addresses, and each address received 79 bitcoins. These bitcoins were eventually deposited on exchanges or recombined into smaller wallets – wrote CryptoQuant.
Although unconfirmed, it is believed that the second address with 1,119 bitcoins is controlled by the government.
The company stated that the government still holds 195,307 bitcoins. These are linked to seizures from other criminal incidents, including the hacking of Bitfinex.
