Meme Coins in the Crosshairs: US Government Moves 54 Billion SHIB

On Tuesday, the U.S. government once again shifted some cryptocurrency holdings—this time, it was shiba inu (SHIB), the popular meme coin.

Crypto Mystery: U.S. Marshals Service Wallet Hoards SHIB, ETH, and BUSD

The government moved a staggering 54 billion SHIB on Dec. 3, a transfer flagged by Arkham Intelligence. Valued at $1.56 million based on current rates, SHIB, trading at $0.00002864, holds the title of the second largest meme coin by market cap, trailing dogecoin (DOGE). Since the transfer, SHIB’s value has dipped 0.9% over the past 24 hours against the U.S. dollar.

The funds were deposited into a consolidated Ethereum wallet now worth $32.44 million. The same wallet, tagged as “0x9Ac,” also contains 4,815 ether (ETH) valued at $17.43 million and $13.10 million in binance USD (BUSD), which, at press time, hovers below its target $1 peg at $0.96. Paxos officially began phasing out BUSD on Feb. 21, 2023. Within this wallet, believed to be managed by the U.S. Department of Justice, the recent SHIB addition ranks as the third most valuable holding.

This development comes shortly after the U.S. government transferred nearly 20,000 bitcoin (BTC) to Coinbase earlier this week. That move sparked widespread debate within the crypto community, as many assumed the government would hold onto its bitcoin, especially with President-elect Donald Trump preparing to take office. Jason Lowery, a U.S. Space Force major, openly criticized the decision after the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) routed some of the assets to Coinbase Prime.

Currently, onchain data shows the government still holds 198,109 BTC, valued at $18.92 billion at press time. In addition, USMS-linked wallets hold 54,544 ether, over 750 wrapped bitcoin (WBTC), and $122.13 million in tether (USDT). Beyond these prominent assets, the government also owns numerous smaller, lesser-known cryptocurrencies, some with negligible liquidity, which might remain unsold indefinitely.

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