Key Points

• The DOJ is reportedly cleared to sell BTC seized from Silk Road, creating market panic.
• The FUD is exaggerated due to multiple reasons.

According to the latest reports, the US government has been cleared to sell 69,370 BTC worth around $6.5 billion. These coins have been seized from Silk Road and the selling approval has been ruled by a federal judge, triggering panic in the market.

Some voices in the crypto industry see this latest FUD as exaggerated due to various reasons.

Why The US Government BTC Selling FUD is Exxagerated

The potential selling of Bitcoin worth around $6.5 billion by the US government created market panic mirrored by a recent price drop in BTC’s price, coupled with other factors that have been leading to market drops these days.

However, such a sale would not affect the market too much.

1. BTC’s Market Cap To Surge Significantly in 2025

First of all, Bitcoin’s market cap is much bigger, currently sitting at $1.85 trillion. Back in January 2024, BTC’s market cap was around $860 billion, meaning that last year alone, over $1 trillion entered the Bitcoin market.

The approval of BTC ETFs was one of the most important achievements in the crypto industry, fueling BTC’s price throughout the year. As of January 8, the total net assets locked in BTC ETFs were almost $107 billion, SoSoValue data shows, with optimistic predictions about new inflows in the crypto products for 2025.

This mirrors an increasing institutional adoption, along with MicroStrategy’s plans to buy more BTC and upcoming reserves in the US and other countries.

All this means considerable amounts of money flowing into the BTC market, pushing prices higher, while $6.5 billion being easily absorbed within a few days.

2. Crypto Market Priced In the News

After the news came out today, BTC’s price dropped from around $95,000 to $92,800, before rebounding above $93,000.

Also, reports note that big entities have already had this information in advance and the dump from around $102,000 to $95,000 was to price in this FUD.

3. Selling Could Be via OTC

Unlike the German government, which sold BTC on exchanges, the US government’s $6.5 billion BTC sale is likely to be via OTC. Retailers will most likely panic sell, just to buy higher a few months later.

Overall, the whole FUD regarding an upcoming US government BTC sale is exaggerated.

DOJ Cleared to Sell $6.5 Billion in BTC

A federal judge ruled on December 30 that the DOJ can sell 69,370 BTC seized from the Silk Road marketplace, according to official reports. This year-long ownership dispute over the seized BTC ended following Battle Born Investments losing its bid to delay the sale.

The group had claimed ownership via a bankruptcy estate and recently lost a related FOIA case seeking to reveal the identity of Individual X who originally surrendered the BTC.

Meanwhile, Battle Born’s attorney called this another example of the DOJ’s abuse of the Civil Asset Forfeiture process, claiming that the government relied on procedural trickery to make sure the facts were never heard, according to official notes.

The DOJ reportedly cited Bitcoin’s price volatility in pushing for permission to sell the assets and it’s expected to proceed in the case.

As explained above, considering the upcoming Trump administration set to debut on January 20 and the huge optimism that floods the crypto industry thanks to BTC and crypto-friendly policies, together with a visibly increasing global adoption, there are no reasons to stop being hopeful about 2025 and the crypto industry.