Undoubtedly, the laidback attitude of the United States Government’s towards cryptocurrency was highlighted as the authorities have prematurely sold 185,230 coins ($1.8 billion). The authorities seized these Bitcoins during criminal investigations between 2014 till date. 

According to the numbers tracker, Hard Fork re-ran Lopp; the US Government lost almost $1.7 billion by auctioning the coins at less price than that of the price at the time of its seizure.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Introducing the US Marshals Bitcoin Auction realtime schadenfreude tracker. As of today, the Marshals have missed out on over 1.7 billion dollars by selling early.<a href="https://t.co/jn6hAMbj1I">https://t.co/jn6hAMbj1I</a>
— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) <a href="https://twitter.com/lopp/status/1226497800738832384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
<h2>How The US Government Neglected The Calculations?</h2>
The<a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/crypto/usms-announces-auctioning-of-confisticated-bitcoin-recovered-from-criminals/"> US Marshals</a> confiscated Bitcoins over the past six years, If the government had an attentive approach they would have sold these digital assets when the price of BTC reached or reaches $10,000; this would have lead to a profit of $1.85 billion. On the contrary, BTCs were sold at $818 each which indeed clears that the US Government has lost almost $ 1.7 billion by not holding the coins. The government<a href="https://www.usmarshals.gov/assets/2020/febbitcoinauction/"> auctioned</a> the holdings in February with 4000 BTC up for sale.
<h2>Attitude Of The Government Towards Cryptocurrency</h2>
Many of the countries like Bulgaria, the United Kingdom etc. are involved in seizing and auctioning the bitcoins. But those countries are engaged in calculated auctions to gain profits.

Though the lackadaisical attitude of the US Government led to a significant loss, the fact cannot be denied that the US is acknowledging the latest blockchain technology and the idea of digital currency.

The<a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/crypto/regulators-striving-to-meet-up-with-changes-in-digital-assets-and-cryptocurrency/"> Securities and Exchange Commission</a> of the US is currently emphasizing on the regulations and protocols for the crypto market. The move towards the stricter regulations is to safeguard the crypto enthusiasts and to accelerate the adoption of crypto coins. Another authority,<a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/crypto/us-lawmaker-introduces-cryptocurrency-bill-to-bring-regulatory-clarity/"> Commodities Futures Trading Commission</a> (CFTC) is putting genuine efforts for the acceptance of digital dollars. Lael Brainard,<a href="https://www.cryptoknowmics.com/crypto/united-states-federal-reserve-system-explores-cbdc-and-its-risks/"> Federal Reserve</a> governor, has also suggested the dollar-based Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

US Government Sells Unripe Bitcoins Leading To a Loss Of $1.65 Billion

The United States government, which hold a total of 185,230 bitcoins following multiple seizures, has lost out on almost $1.7 billion by selling them early.

Tarulika is an engineering graduate and an eloquent crypto blogger. Being a digital economy supporter, she keeps herself updated with the latest innovation in the crypto industry, Blockchain Technology, Internet of Things and other technologies. Currently, she curates the simple and interesting content for Crypto guides for beginners. If you want to learn more about the cryptocurrencies, latest trends of blockchain-powered AI applications, you are free to follow her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

US Government Sells Unripe Bitcoins Leading To a Loss Of $1.65 Billion

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