The US government sold approximately 200,000 BTC over the years, costing the taxpayers $17 billion.
In a March 7 press call ahead of the first White House Crypto Summit, a senior White House official said the US government holds about 200,000 Bitcoin from forfeiture proceedings for its strategic reserve.
“We believe we have about 200,000 Bitcoin left, and we’re placing those in the strategic reserve so that we do have a long-term strategy to maximize its value,” they said.
According to the official, the US government came into possession of roughly 400,000 Bitcoin (BTC) through various criminal and civil proceedings, including the infamous Silk Road case, but about 200,000 was sold off “in an ad hoc manner over the past decade or so.”
