US government transfers 3940 Bitcoin to Coinbase exchange

According to data from Arkham Intelligence, on June 26, the United States government sent 3,940 Bitcoin to a Coinbase Prime wallet. The transaction, which occurred at 5:00 pm UTC, involved Bitcoin that had been seized from convicted drug trafficker Banmeet Singh in 2024.
Banmeet Singh was arrested by British authorities in London in 2019 on drug distribution charges and was extradited to the United States in 2023. The United States Department of Justice claimed that Singh had operated a narcotics smuggling network from 2012 to 2017, with distributors located in several states across the country.
As part of the judgment against him, Singh was required to surrender over 8,100 Bitcoin to U.S. authorities. This cryptocurrency seizure, valued at approximately $150 million at the time, was deemed the largest ever conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. In April 2024, Singh was sentenced to five years in prison but was released by U.S. authorities after receiving credit for time served. He reportedly intends to return to India.
In recent weeks, concerns about government sell-offs affecting the Bitcoin market have been prevalent among market participants. Reports of the German government selling off its Bitcoin holdings, valued at around $2.76 billion, have contributed to these fears. Additionally, the U.S. government currently owns approximately 214,000 Bitcoin, worth about $13 billion, making it the largest state holder of the decentralized currency in the Arkham Intel database.
Investors have also expressed concerns about a potential decline in the Bitcoin price due to the Mt. Gox bankruptcy estate selling off 140,000 Bitcoin to compensate those affected by the 2014 collapse of the exchange. However, the balance of Bitcoin held by exchanges is at a six-year low, which helps stabilize the price by counteracting selling pressure.