US Government-Linked Wallet Moves $241M Bitcoin Seized From Narcotics Trafficker To Coinbase

A digital wallet tagged by blockchain intelligence and analytics firm Arkham Intelligence and associated with the U.S. government has moved nearly 4,000 Bitcoins to Coinbase Prime, triggering a wave of discussions on X (formerly Twitter) regarding the transfer, considering how the German government recently dumped hundreds of millions worth of Bitcoin.

The transfer, from a wallet named "U.S. Government: Banmeet Singh Seized Funds," of over 3,900 BTC worth over $241 million based on current prices, took place on Thursday afternoon, as per Arkham data. The transfer to a Coinbase Prime hot wallet was completed with a fee of $18.35.

Singh pled guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a press release that 40-year-old Singh set up vendor marketing sites on dark web marketplaces to sell various controlled substances, including fentanyl and ecstasy.

The vendor sites accepted cryptocurrency payments, and Singh allegedly either "personally shipped" or facilitated the shipment of the substances from Europe to the United States. His guilty plea in January included forfeiture of millions worth of digital assets.

Arkham's data further showed that the wallet's last massive transfer was made earlier this month, when the 15.798 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) worth $1.06 million from funds seized from Shakeeb Ahmed were moved to a different wallet.

Ahmed was charged with wire fraud after allegedly pilfering around $9 million in cryptocurrencies from a crypto exchange, "including cryptocurrency deposited by the Crypto Exchange's users."

The government-linked wallet's latest transfer has become a hot topic among crypto users on X. Some users questioned what the transferred funds will be used for, and others mocked the wallet's holder for having "paper hands," a term in the crypto space that refers to people who cash out their crypto when markets are in the red.

A Web3 researcher said the transfer appears to have been made for the purpose of "spooking" the crypto market again. The crypto market went into a frenzy at the start of the week as Bitcoin, the world's largest digital asset by market value, slumped below $60,000.

At least one user wondered whether the move was initiated as a form of "manipulation." Talks about price manipulation in the crypto market have been on the rise in recent days, especially after the German government sold off some $325 million worth of BTC in a two-day dumping spree last week.

However, some industry experts said that rather than manipulation, crypto prices being down may have been affected more by the "volatile" people who sell their digital assets whenever crypto prices slide.