Bitcoin Recovers From U.S. Government Sell-off Panic

The cryptocurrency market staged a modest recovery on Tuesday.

Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency, rose 1% to $95,361, stabilizing above the $95,000 mark.

On Monday, the U.S. government transferred 10,000 BTC (valued at approximately $963 million) linked to the Silk Road case. Blockchain records show that $1.9 billion worth of Bitcoin seized during the 2021 investigation of James Zhong was moved to Coinbase Prime wallets. Zhong was convicted of wire fraud related to the Silk Road marketplace.

On Dec. 2, a wallet linked to the U.S. government transferred approximately 19,800 Bitcoin — valued at $1.9 billion at the time — to a Coinbase Prime deposit address, according to Arkham Intelligence. The move sparked panic, causing a dip in BTC prices, though the cryptocurrency has since recovered.

Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) mirrored Bitcoin's recovery, up 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively, pushing the total cryptocurrency market capitalization to $3.62 trillion.

XRP Continues Meteoric Rise

XRP has surged 410% over the past 30 days.

The rally was fueled by renewed investor confidence following the Republican victory in the U.S. elections, which is seen as a positive for Ripple Labs and its associated token.

“XRP has flipped SOL in market cap. This was definitely not on my bingo card, but it shows how markets can sometimes react in totally unexpected ways. The XRP army has shown us that they are stronger than we thought,” wrote Alpha Please analysts.

Market sentiment remains bullish overall.

Digital asset trading firm QCP Capital said, “Crypto mining companies like Riot Platform are increasingly likely to halt BTC sales, with some considering expanding holdings.”