US Govt Selling Crypto Worth Millions Seized From Bitfinex Hacker?

In an unprecedented turn of events, a U.S. Government wallet was recently reported to be compromised, echoing a bustle across the broader market. On Friday, on-chain data indicated that the US govt wallet started shifting or selling nearly $20 million worth of crypto assets, including ETH, USDT, USDC, and aUSDC to another address.

Meanwhile, a portion of the shifted funds was soon recorded to be sold to a crypto exchange. Market enthusiasts speculate whether these selloffs are likely a part of the American government’s strategy amid the United States v. Lichtenstein lawsuit.

Is The US Govt Selling Crypto Related To Bitfinex Hack?

As per the latest on-chain data by Arkham Intelligence dated October 25, the US Government-linked address 0xc9E appears to have been compromised. Notably, $20 million in USDC, USDT, aUSDC, and ETH were recorded to have been suspiciously moved to another address 0x348 from the govt-linked wallet.

Besides, it’s noteworthy that the funds moved to 0x348 were recorded as being sold thereafter. Notably, Lookonchain data on X today pointed out that 148 ETH was sold to Binance, one of the top crypto exchanges.

For context, the US govt wallet address 0xc9E received these Bitfinex hack-related crypto funds from 9 other seizure addresses, including 0xE2F. Intriguingly, the address 0xE2F was also listed in the court documents regarding the Bitfinex hacked funds seizure.

Further, Arkham hints in its post that the address 0x348 has begun selling some crypto moved from the US govt wallet address. This chronicle has sparked a buzz across the broader market, with some even speculating the selloffs to be likely the U.S. government’s efforts amid recent lawsuit developments.

United States v. Lichtenstein Lawsuit Developments Add Speculations

Meanwhile, CoinGape Media reported earlier this month that the United States v. Lichtenstein lawsuit saw Ilya Lichtenstein, the mastermind behind the Bitfinex exchange $6 billion hack, encountering increased scrutiny from regulators. US prosecutors sought a minimum 5-year prison sentence for Lichtenstein in the aftermath of the Bitfinex exchange hack, one of the largest crypto hacks recorded in history.

The US govt recent potential compromise amid these latest developments has sparked further speculations, solidifying sentiments of selling crypto by the entity itself. Further, as revealed in Arkham’s post, the attacker used a money laundering service to process the selloff.

Overall, market watchers continue to eye the wallets’ movements to gain a clear perspective on the matter. As CoinGape reported, it was the first AAVE transaction by the US government since February.