'Sodl' too soon: US gov't missed Bitcoin gains now total $6B

Bitcoin (BTC) worth over $7.2 billion is still controlled by the United States government — but its losses are mounting.

Data from on-chain analytics firm Glassnode shows that Washington’s seized bitcoins total 210,429 BTC as of Oct. 31.

195,000 BTC sold, $6.3 billion down

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are well known — perhaps accidentally — as being one of the world’s largest Bitcoin whales.

Through various legal proceedings, lawmakers have confiscated vast amounts of BTC over the years, and only a small percentage of its takings have been resold at auction.

Those who opted to buy the proceeds have profited considerably, and adding to the irony, the DoJ — more like a Bitcoin newbie than a whale — has been guilty of selling too soon.

According to statistics compiled by Jameson Lopp, co-founder of Bitcoin custody firm Casa, the government has so far missed out on a grand total of $6,323,203,004 in potential gains from its 195,092 BTC sell-off.

Largest national and corporate Bitcoin holdings (screenshot). Source: Bitcoin Treasuries

No single entity other than Satoshi Nakamoto owns more BTC than the DoJ. The largest corporate BTC treasury, for example, owned by MicroStrategy, currently consists of 158,245 BTC ($5.43 billion), per data from monitoring resource Bitcoin Treasuries.

Heavy Bitcoin bag

Glassnode shows the DoJ stash growing in step with announcements of confiscations.

In early 2022, its inventory increased by nearly 100,000 BTC — at the time worth $3.6 billion — thanks to legal action against individuals accused of attempting to launder the proceeds of a 2016 hack of major crypto exchange Bitfinex.

*U.S. government BTC balance chart. Source: Glassnode*

Meanwhile, billionaire Tim Draper, one of the original BTC auction bidders, recently accused the U.S. government of suppressing crypto growth.

Having previously predicted a $250,000 BTC price tag for 2022, Draper subsequently claimed that policy failures were “killing the golden goose of Silicon Valley.”

“Regulations smother innovators,” part of an X post from May reads.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.