Michael Saylor, the co-founder of the business intelligence giant MicroStrategy, known for its significant accumulation of Bitcoin over the past four years, recently made a bullish tweet addressing the crypto community. This comes at a time when the global flagship cryptocurrency has shown a 4.89% recovery in the last 24 hours, moving away from the $53,900 zone it dropped to on Friday.
Despite Bitcoin experiencing a roller coaster ride with a more than 15% price crash between Monday and Friday, Michael Saylor emphasized Bitcoin’s stability by stating, “1 BTC = 1 BTC.” The digital gold asset started to reverse its downward trend on Friday, registering an almost 5% increase and reaching the $56,550 level, where it is currently trading.
Several large entities, including the U.S. government, the German government, and the defunct Mt. Gox crypto exchange, have been involved in massive Bitcoin transactions recently. These entities have collectively moved $1.08 billion in Bitcoin, equivalent to 17,778 BTC. The German government has been consistently selling Bitcoin since July 1, according to data from the Lookonchain smart wallet tracker.
Currently, these entities hold a substantial amount of Bitcoin, totaling 396,210 BTC valued at approximately $22.78 billion. The U.S. government possesses 213,297 BTC, valued at $11.72 billion, while Germany still holds 41,226 BTC worth $2.28 billion. Mt. Gox, the infamous crypto exchange that faced a hack in 2014, retains 141,687 BTC valued at $7.78 billion.
The Bitcoin held by these governments was primarily confiscated from illegal activities and money laundering operations. For instance, the U.S. government seized Bitcoin during the shutdown of the Darknet marketplace Silk Road, which was operated by Ross Ulbricht over a decade ago. These government holdings and transactions add an interesting dynamic to the Bitcoin market and raise questions about the involvement of regulatory authorities in the cryptocurrency space.