Zinger Key Points
- David Sacks criticizes the U.S. government’s lack of a long-term Bitcoin strategy, arguing taxpayers lost billions.
- Current U.S. government Bitcoin holdings stand at 207,189 BTC—mostly from law enforcement seizures.
- Get 5 stock picks identified before their biggest breakouts, identified by the same system that spotted Insmed, Sprouts, and Uber before their 20%+ gains.
White House ‘Crypto Czar’ David Sacks says the U.S. government missed a massive financial opportunity by selling all Bitcoin BTC/USD instead of holding it.
What Happened: In an X post on Thursday, Sacks noted that over the past decade the U.S. federal government liquidated approximately 195,000 Bitcoin, generating $366 million in proceeds at the time of sale.
Due to Bitcoin’s substantial price appreciation, those holdings would now be valued at over $17 billion if they had been retained.
The post attracted the attention of some big names in crypto industry, with investor Mike Alfred slamming the decision, questioning, "How can the government be so stupid?”
Anthony Scaramucci responded with a meme saying, "Oh My God, It's Happening!", while Anthony Pompliano is curious how much the 195,000 BTC could be worth in another decade.
Riot Platforms VP Pierre Rochard noted that five years ago, he had urged the government to hold its Bitcoin, but his advice was ignored and this led to a missed opportunity for American taxpayers.
Also Read: Michael Saylor Hints US Will Buy 1 Million Bitcoin For Strategic Reserve
Why It Matters: Data from BiTBO shows the U.S. government owns 207,189 BTC.
This accounts for around 0.987% of total BTC supply.
The Bitcoin was seized from law enforcement seizures, with the largest sources being 94,643 BTC from the Bitfinex hack, seized from Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, 69,370 BTC from the Silk Road marketplace seizure and 9,800 BTC seized from James Zhong related to Silk Road among many others.
Arkham Intelligence data shows the U.S. government owns other assets like Ethereum ETH/USD worth $126 million and USDT USDT/USD worth $122 million.
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