Bitcoin held by governments near $33 billion mark

Key Takeaways

• US government holds the largest Bitcoin reserve at 213,297 BTC, worth $14.82 billion.
• El Salvador actively purchases 1 Bitcoin daily as part of its national crypto adoption strategy.

Governments worldwide hold 2.6% of Bitcoin’s (BTC) circulating supply, totaling 471,380.6 BTC worth $32.7 billion as of July 29, 2024. As reported by CoinGecko, the United States leads with 213,297 BTC ($14.82 billion), mostly seized from criminal activities like the Silk Road shutdown.

China follows with 190,000 BTC ($13.20 billion), primarily from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme. The UK ranks third, holding 61,000 BTC ($4.24 billion) from a money laundering operation.

El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, actively purchases 1 BTC daily, accumulating 5,800 BTC ($0.40 billion). Ukraine has received 1,336.4 BTC in donations for war efforts, with a current balance of 186.18 BTC ($12.93 million).

Germany recently liquidated its entire holdings of 46,359 BTC ($3.02 billion), seized from a piracy website in 2013. Notably, this sale caused a 15.7% drop in Bitcoin’s price between June 19 and July 12, which is mentioned by CoinGecko analysts as an example of how government sell-offs can impact significantly the prices in the crypto market.

Yesterday, the US government moved over $2 billion in BTC seized from the Silk Road to an unknown address. As reported by Crypto Briefing, this was enough to make the Bitcoin price crash 1.3% in a few minutes, and 4.3% in the last 24 hours.

Government cryptocurrency holdings reflect a mix of law enforcement actions and financial strategies. As crypto adoption increases, more regulations and active purchases by governments are expected, potentially shaping the future of digital finance, the report highlighted.