Rumors have been swirling that the U.S. government sold off the majority of its Bitcoin holdings but according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
In a post shared on July 24, Arkham clarified that the U.S. still holds approximately 198,000 BTC, worth about $24 billion at current prices. That puts an end to the widespread speculation that the government had dumped 85% of its crypto reserves.
Where Did the Rumor Come From?
It all started with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which revealed that the U.S. Marshals Service currently holds just 29,000 BTC. Naturally, this raised some red flags and quickly led to headlines suggesting a massive sell-off had occurred.
But Arkham stepped in to set the record straight. That FOIA disclosure, they explained, only accounts for one agency’s stash and not the holdings managed by the FBI, DOJ, DEA, or U.S. Attorney’s Offices. In other words, the government’s total Bitcoin trove is far more dispersed than the public realized.
They made the clarification in a response to a post by Senator Cynthia Lummis, who had flagged the discrepancy on X (formerly Twitter).
U.S. Bitcoin Holdings vs. the Rest of the World
At nearly 200,000 BTC, the U.S. government holds more Bitcoin than any other nation by a wide margin:
- U.K.: $7 billion in BTC
- Bhutan: $1.3 billion in BTC
And while the U.S.’s $24 billion crypto stash only makes up a tiny 0.065% of its $37 trillion national debt, it still holds symbolic significance. It shows that digital assets especially Bitcoin are increasingly being treated as strategic holdings at the sovereign level.
What If the Government Did Sell?
Even though the rumors turned out to be false, the situation sparked a very real conversation: what if the government did decide to sell a massive portion of its Bitcoin in the future?
Would it be to cover part of the national debt? Or to fund emergency fiscal programs? No one knows for sure but the idea alone caused enough panic to warrant official clarifications.
For now, though, the crypto community can breathe easy: Uncle Sam is still holding strong.
