The US government moved $606,000 worth of Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime on Thursday, April 16.
While it was not clear whether the transfer was for sell-off or holding purposes, similar past moves have been associated with FUD and bearish sentiment.
According to Arkham data, this was part of the 94,643 BTC seized in the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
But the transfer has raised more questions than fears of a market sell-off.
In early 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the stolen funds must be returned to Bitfinex, which was identified as the primary victim.
Nearly a year later, the seized funds, worth more than $7 billion at current prices, have not been returned to Bitfinex.
However, the delay may be related to complex legal procedures associated with settlements of such enormous size. If so, the transfer is likely for custody and distribution purposes, and not for a government sell-off.
What’s next for BTC?
Yet the broader BTC market was still in “extreme fear,” despite the crypto asset hovering around $74,000 in recent days.
This implied that players were still cautious despite the recent price increase. According to trading desk QCP Capital, this week’s recovery was driven by ceasefire talks between the US and Iran, with oil briefly falling from over $100 to $90.
However, QCP Capital analysts warned:
An extension of the ceasefire alone is no longer sufficient. Markets need tangible progress, such as restored energy flows, compression in crude oil premiums and clearer disinflation.
They added:
Until then, this remains a story of partial normalization rather than full recovery. Crypto remains supported, but macro-driven. BTC and ETH continue to trade as expressions of the same regime shift, with reduced escalation risk. Constructive, but not yet comfortable.
From an on-chain perspective, data showed a spike in whale sell-offs by players with over 100 BTC. In the same response, CryptoQuant analyst JA Maartun says noted,
They (whales) have started sending a lot more BTC to exchanges. This type of activity has not been this high in weeks and is starting to weigh on the market.
Whether the whale pressure will derail a move beyond $75,000 remains to be seen pending the Fed’s interest rate decision.
Final summary
- The US government moved $606,000 BTC, part of the more than 94,000 BTC that was supposed to be returned to Bitfinex, to Coinbase Prime
- QCP warned of uncertainty despite BTC’s recovery to $75,000 as the US-Iran conflict had not yet been fully resolved.