Arkham reveals US government holds considerable Bitcoin reserves alongside other states

The United States government, along with the United Kingdom and Germany, is among the largest holders of cryptocurrency, according to data from Arkham. Arkham, a crypto intelligence platform that focuses on identifying entities on the blockchain network, has unveiled a dashboard that showcases the governments with the highest crypto holdings. The US, UK, and Germany are highlighted as some of the leading countries in terms of crypto ownership. The new tracking tool from Arkham allows individuals to monitor the real-time balance and transaction history of cryptocurrencies held by governments. According to the data, the US government is the largest holder of Bitcoin (BTC) among the global states tracked by Arkham, with a current holding of 212,847 BTC, valued at around $15 billion. Additionally, the US government holds approximately $200 million in other cryptocurrencies such as Ether (ETH), as well as major stablecoins like USDC and Tether. The UK government is ranked second, holding 61,245 BTC, worth approximately $4.5 billion, while the German government owns 49,858 BTC, equivalent to roughly $3.5 billion. In contrast, the government of El Salvador, which became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021, holds significantly less BTC than the other countries tracked by Arkham, with a holding of 5,717 BTC, valued at $405 million. The release of Arkham’s dashboard showcasing the top governments by Bitcoin holdings is a significant step towards transparency in the cryptocurrency assets owned by entities such as country states. It also highlights that the US government has been accumulating Bitcoin for several years, with at least 5,000 BTC being added since early 2023, according to Arkham’s data and previous reports. A notable portion of the US government’s Bitcoin holdings comes from confiscations related to the darkweb market Silk Road, the hacker Jimmy Zhong, and the hackers of crypto exchange Bitfinex.