Hold onto your crypto hats, folks! The U.S. government just made some jaw-dropping moves in the digital currency world, and it's causing quite a buzz amid a market upswing.
On December 3rd, Uncle Sam decided to shuffle around a cool $33.6 million in crypto, snatched during the FTX and Alameda Research saga. The destination? Two mysterious addresses that have everyone in the crypto community scratching their heads.
We're talking about a hefty haul that includes Ethereum (ETH), Binance USD (BUSD), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and even a dash of Shiba Inu (SHIB) for good measure. According to the crypto sleuths over at Arkham Intelligence, two whopping transfers of 5,024 ETH and 3,739 ETH were made, totalling a sweet $18 million. These were sent to some enigmatic addresses starting with “0x9cd” and “0x9ac.”
But wait, there's more! The wallet, tagged by Arkham as “FTX Alameda Seized Funds,” didn't stop there. It also pushed out $13 million in BUSD and $1.5 million in SHIB, along with other crypto goodies like Axie Infinity (AXS), Compound (COMP), Numeraire (NMR), WBTC, and Yearn Finance’s YFI.
Now, here's the kicker: these transfers coincided with a market rally that had crypto enthusiasts grinning from ear to ear. ETH, for instance, is riding high at $3,726, a solid 9% boost from last week and over 50% up from a month ago, despite still being a tad shy of its all-time high.
But the plot thickens! This isn't the first time the U.S. government has made waves with its crypto stash. Just this past Monday, they made headlines by moving nearly $2 billion in Bitcoin, seized from the infamous Silk Road, to Coinbase Prime. With nearly 20,000 BTC split between two wallets, this maneuver is part of the ongoing saga of the government's crypto dealings.
With the U.S. government sitting on a treasure trove of digital assets, worth a staggering $19.6 billion as of December 4th, it seems like this crypto story is far from over. So, stay tuned, because in the world of digital currency, anything can happen!
