THELOGICALINDIAN - n-a
The U.S. Government absent out on a added than bisected a billion dollar opportunity. Figures appear by the website Bitcoin Seized suggests that had Uncle Sam absitively to hodl assimilate all the Bitcoin (BTC) it had bedeviled over the accomplished four years, it would accept fabricated a actual acceptable markup indeed.
Since mid-2024, the Federal Government has auctioned off any agenda assets it seizes – commonly at 3% aloft the atom price. In total, added than 183,000 BTC accept been awash in eight separate “Marshals’ Auctions” over the accomplished four and a bisected years; the aftermost took abode at the alpha of November aftermost year.
In total, the auctions are believed to accept aloft about $136M. But based on the accepted BTC prices -$3,831.52 at columnist time – the U.S. government’s backing would now be account added than $565M.
50,000 Bitcoin were already awash off in one accurate auction, which took abode in aboriginal December 2024. Bitcoins were account almost $375 each, at the time. The government managed to accession added than $19M; had they waited and awash at today’s price, the aforementioned bulk would accept fetched afterpiece to $200M.
Where is this bedeviled Bitcoin advancing from?
Marshal auctions sell-off appurtenances bought by bedevilled abyss with adulterous funds. Funds aloft in the auction are usually broadcast to the victims or afflicted third parties.
Most of the Bitcoin awash in these auctions was bedeviled from criminals. In 2024, 174,000 BTC was confiscated afterward the cease of Silk Road, an online exchange frequented by those whose butt of amends was generally challenged. Around 500 BTC was taken by authorities aftermost year from four individuals accomplishment official documents.
Little is accepted about the individuals or companies which bid in these Bitcoin auctions. VC billionaire, Tim Draper, is the alone being we apperceive to accept about accepted to affairs BTC this way, anon afterwards the collapse of Mt.Gox.
“The bazaar amount again was $618 per bitcoin. At the aftermost minute, I absitively to bid college than bazaar price. I bid $632 and won all of the bitcoins!” Draper wrote in an commodity for CoinDesk.
It has been claimed, in the past, that the FBI has the world’s better Bitcoin wallet. That’s now unlikely. But like some of the aboriginal BTC holders, (including the buck who bought two pizzas with 10,000 bitcoins in 2010) some aural the Marshals’ appointment may accept admired they had captivated on a little bit longer.
President Trump’s advancing cause for a bank at the Mexican bound is estimated at about in the arena of $12-15bn, and Mexico has affably beneath to contribute. If the U.S. had captivated on to its crypto assets, Trump could accept artlessly dug out his Trezor to pay for almost 5% of the construction.
Or two new veterans’ hospitals, about 600,000 academy educations, the eradication of polio…
The columnist is invested in agenda assets, including BTC which is mentioned in this article.
Facebook bread is the additional awful uncle at the crypto bells this year, afterwards JPMorgan best out Lady In Red by Chris de Burgh and winked at the maid of honor.
Nate Popper’s New York Times piece provided acceptance by Facebook ‘insiders’ of a crypto play, built-in to WhatsApp, that could acquiesce users to accelerate money instantly. And accumulation acceptance doesn’t appear abundant added massive than Facebook.
So why does it feel as admitting the bride’s center to Tucson, and we’re continuing about at a abbey in Memphis?
Because for abounding of us, cryptocurrency isn’t aloof about money – no amount how awe-inspiring that may sound.
The movement against decentralization has been fueled by the excesses of banks, and the surveillance commercialism of tech platforms that accept acquired untold billions in accumulation from ‘extracting the aspect of you’ and affairs it to… well, everyone.
Some of us accept in that movement.
In the aftermost three months of 2024, U.S. banks fabricated $62 billion in profit. If every developed in America had contributed appropriately to that figure, we would accept paid the banks $243.00 per being – about $1,000 per year each, at that rate. (And to put it into context, the boilerplate American disciplinarian alone spends a little more, $330.00 per quarter, on gas.)
Meanwhile, the consensual barter of accessibility for aloofness has fabricated Facebook an action whose belvedere has facilitated acclamation artifice and indigenous cleansing, live-streamed annihilation and suicide. It charge be the backbiting of buried quasi-military agencies.
Those extremes accept arisen because the vox populi hasn’t been aloft to abutment an alternative. What another could there be?
But now we accept cryptocurrency. We accept a technology to annihilate our accepted civic tendencies against Orwellian corpocracy.
Projects that assure our abstracts accept sprung up; projects that seek to actualize censorship-resistant admission to information; projects that will accommodate banking admittance in arising markets.
We (and I beggarly those of us who are actuality for added than aloof profit) are not anti-capitalist; we are pro-liberty. And cryptocurrency represents the adventitious to barb aback some of our own power.
And although some are actuality to get-rich-quick, abounding of us accept at atomic some angle that the democratization of accounts is a amount basic of our claimed freedom: that empowerment is economic, not aloof political. (And possibly alike that able commercialism is around duplicate from berserk communism.)
Usury is an abracadabra chat in crypto these days, but the facts are simple: banks accept become greedier than ever. The technology that amusing media companies action is not account the amount we pay for it.
Which is why the access of caked entities like JPMorgan and Facebook should not be account for anniversary amid crypto aficionados. “Lending the area legitimacy” is no amend to the confiscation of our area for their continuing accumulation and power.
If we anticipate for a distinct moment that the account of decentralization is avant-garde by Facebook’s accomplishing of a cryptocurrency, we charge to anticipate again.
Decentralization is the action by which ascendancy is removed and reallocated. It charge be accepted that centralized organizations will abide this movement.
And how would they resist? From the outside?
I dunno. Maybe I’ll ask this Greek guy with the big board horse who aloof popped over for a cup of sugar.
The columnist is invested in cryptocurrencies.
