US authorities have recently moved a significant amount of Bitcoin, around 40,000 BTC, that was confiscated from cybercriminals.
Among these, 9,861 BTC that were seized from the Silk Road darknet market founders were transferred to Coinbase exchange’s wallet.
This move has led to a decline in the value of Bitcoin, which is currently trading at $21,700, down 7.5% over the week.
Traders seem to be anticipating the US authorities to start selling off the confiscated BTC, which could be contributing to the decrease in value.
According to Conor Ryder, an analyst at Kaiko, the transfer of BTC from the Silk Road founders’ confiscation was likely done with the intention of selling the coins, which could be another factor impacting the price of Bitcoin in the short term.
Furthermore, the recent closure of the Silvergate bank has also contributed to the decline in the crypto market.
Many companies in the industry previously relied on the bank’s services, but now they have refused to work with it.
Although there were rumors about the possibility of the bank’s revival, its management ultimately decided to close it and return customers’ deposits.