SSeveral wallets associated with Ross Ulbricht reportedly hold approximately 430 Bitcoin that were not confiscated by the U.S. government, according to a Coinbase executive.

Conor Grogan, Coinbase’s director of product strategy, claimed in a post on X on Jan. 22 that he identified dozens of wallets tied to the Silk Road founder. These wallets cumulatively hold about 430 Bitcoin (BTC), which have remained untouched for more than 13 years.

“I found ~430 BTC across dozens of wallets associated with Ross Ulbricht that were not confiscated by the USGovt and have been untouched for 13+ years. Back then these were probably dust wallets, now, collectively, they are worth about $47M,” Grogan noted.

Ulbricht left prison on Jan. 21, 2025, following a full and unconditional pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump. Keeping a campaign promise, Trump issued the pardon on his first full day in office after being sworn in on Jan. 20.

The U.S. government had seized 174,000 BTC from Silk Road in 2013. Ulbricht, arrested the same year, was sentenced in 2015 to two life sentences plus 40 years on charges including operating a criminal enterprise, drug distribution, and money laundering. Silk Road had used Bitcoin for transactions on its darknet marketplace.

While authorities shut down Silk Road and seized significant amounts of Bitcoin, wallets holding relatively small amounts at the time appear to have been overlooked. These wallets, now worth millions of dollars due to Bitcoin’s appreciation, remain untouched.

One such wallet holds 88.77 BTC, currently valued at over $9.4 million. Some of these wallets also contain airdropped assets, such as those from the 2017 Bitcoin Cash (BCH) hard fork. 

Despite the substantial value of these wallets today, Grogan speculated that Ulbricht may not have access to the private keys. In response to concerns about publicizing this information, Grogan clarified:

“Not going to share the addresses but all of them are public (cited in trial docs or directly adjacent ) and tracked already by multiple sources.”

TL;DR

• Analysts predict a bullish outlook for Dogecoin (DOGE), with potential price targets above $2, driven by bullish chart patterns and significant whale accumulation.
• The creation of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) has fueled speculation, with future endorsements potentially reflecting on the meme coin’s price performance.

DOGE’s Next Potential Targets

Dogecoin (DOGE) has experienced intense turbulence in the past week, with its valuation hovering between $0.33 and $0.43. It reached its local peak on January 18 (two days before Donald Trump’s inauguration), while currently, it trades at approximately $0.36 (per CoinGecko’s data).

Despite the significant volatility, many industry participants remain optimistic that DOGE could soon tap a new all-time high. X user Trader Tardigrade claimed that the asset has formed a bull flag on the 2-day chart, which could trigger a price explosion to as high as $2.

Prior to that, JAVON MARKS outlined an even more bullish prediction. They think DOGE has been “showing strength, and by historical performances, prices can be set for an over +432% gain from here.” The meme coin was trading at around $0.38 at the time of the forecast, and the potential increase would result in a valuation surpassing $2. 

One major factor signaling that the OG meme coin could indeed witness a substantial rally in the short term is the whale activity. According to X user Ali Martinez, such large investors have purchased 590 million tokens (equaling more than $215 million) in the past 24 hours. 

Consistent efforts in that field will reduce DOGE’s circulating supply and create upward pressure on the price (should demand stay the same or rise). In addition, the whales’ actions could encourage retail investors to follow suit and inject further capital into the ecosystem. 

D.O.G.E. and DOGE

Another element signaling good days ahead for DOGE bulls is the establishment of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. The entity’s abbreviation is the same as that of the meme coin, while Tesla’s CEO is a huge proponent of the asset. 

Earlier this week, Dogecoin’s value briefly skyrocketed by double digits after D.O.G.E. featured the token’s logo on its official website. It later removed it, but if Musk or the agency continues to endorse it, the price might rally again.

Ever since Donald Trump’s appointment as US President, the crypto market has been making merry. Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 mark and made a high of $109,000. As of now, the OG crypto coin is 550% from the cycle lows in November 2002, when it plummeted to $15,500.

Well, Bitcoin could potentially climb to $1M by the end of 2025. No, we’re not joking!

During the 2015-2018 cycle, the coin was also up by almost the same percentage as it is now in the current cycle. And during the 2018-2022 cycle, the price was up by 1,300% during the same stage.

Now, if we take cues from the 2015-2018 cycle, Bitcoin can end up 1,110% higher from its lows by the end of March 2025. The price is expected to peak around October, when it may stand at 11,000% higher at around $1.7M.

With Bitcoin’s potential rally comes a near-certainty that the rest of the crypto industry (meme coins included) will follow suit. And that’s where Flockerz shines through, as this Vote-to-Earn project aims to innovate the industry with its community-centric approach.

Trump Administration to Bitcoin and Crypto Industry?

If you need another perspective, consider the Trump effect. Donald Trump is expected to be the most pro-crypto president the US has ever seen. He has promised several legal reforms to strengthen the crypto market.

During his first term, when he was not all that pro-crypto, Bitcoin gained 20x. And now, when the winds have changed, investors only expect a 10x move from Bitcoin to reach $1M, as reported by Coindesk.

Just days before his swearing-in ceremony, Trump launched his own meme coin, $TRUMP.

It quickly became the 18th largest cryptocurrency in the world when it hit a market cap of $15B at a price of around $75. Similarly, the first lady, Melania Trump also followed suit and launched $MELANIA.

Although these coins brought in decent returns for investors, the SEC is not too impressed and may ring in several regulatory restrictions.

The launch of individual-based cryptocurrencies opens the door for manipulation and scams and can dent the investor’s belief in the crypto markets.

As per SEC, popular meme coins like these can ‘blur the lines between celebrity, politics, and finance’ and lead to a lot of volatility and fraud.

There have already been signs of that. As per Bubblemaps, 90% of the $MELANIA token supply was found to be in a single wallet. The official website of the meme coin claims that only 35% of the tokens have been made available to the token team.

Since political meme coins can be a grey area for both regulators and investors, we recommend investing in people-driven coins like Flockerz ($FLOCK) – one of the hottest presales this January.

Last Few Hours of the $FLOCK Presale

$FLOCK is a unique V2E meme coin that allows token holders to participate in the decision-making process. Investors can vote on aspects such as token burns, governance plans, expansion ideas, and new features.

This puts the power in the hands of people who actually care about the coin, and not a single entity. Moving forward, this can set an important precedent in the meme coin industry. Investors may prefer projects with V2E structures in place.

This community-driven coin has amassed close to 31K followers on X and has a strong presence on Telegram as well.

This innovative V2E concept has helped $FLOCK raise $12.5M in presale funding. At the time of writing this, less than 2 hours remain before the presale ends. You can get one $FLOCK for $0.0066883.

To do that, visit the official Flockerz presale website, connect your wallet, and purchase the number of $FLOCK you need. You can do so with a bank card, $ETH, $USDT, or $BNB.

The coin will then move towards listing and is expected to skyrocket to 100x post that within a few months. Experts expect listing gains of at least 10x on launch. The project has reserved 10% of its total token supply for listing to prevent extreme volatility.

Traders have also shown increased interest lately, buying over $44K $FLOCK in the last three days.

The presale is inches away from closing, and this is definitely your last chance to join the $FLOCK mania.

However, crypto assets are subject to market risks and it is wise to do your own research before putting in your hard-earned money. This article isn’t a substitute for professional financial advice.

Tax. The word may make you cringe, but it’s also one you probably don’t want to ignore.

Bitcoin (BTC) hit $100,000 for the first time in December 2024, and while you’ve probably had your fair share of “I told you so” moments with the crypto skeptics over the holidays, now is the time to make sure you’re clued in on the tax side of things if you’re planning to cash in on profits.

It’s not just about keeping track of your own jurisdiction; you should stay aware of global rules as well, as your jurisdiction may adopt them in the future.

Long-term Bitcoin holders are profiting — and the taxman is watching

With the average long-term Bitcoin holder having paid around $24,543 for their Bitcoin, it’s clear that many hodlers are now sitting on profits nearly four times that amount.

For those who’ve hodled through the ups and downs, it’s been a rewarding payoff.

But let’s not kid ourselves — tax authorities worldwide are getting a lot better at tracking these gains. The days of thinking crypto profits fly under the radar are long gone.

Whether you like it or not, the taxman is catching up, and he’s getting more savvy by the day.

For instance, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently introduced a new rule stating that investors must use wallet-based cost tracking for crypto assets from 2025 onward.

Crypto investors had to quickly adjust to IRS changes

Previously, crypto users could group all their assets together to calculate their cost-basis for taxes under the Universal tracking method. But now, the IRS requires each wallet or account to be treated as its own separate ledger.

This isn’t exactly great news for crypto investors, as it limits them on what counts as their cost-basis for sold assets — everything has to be tied to the same crypto wallet.

As a crypto tax software platform, Koinly has had to move quickly to keep up with the changes, just like the investors that use our platform.

One of the updates we’ve made is allowing users to adjust their cost-basis settings from a certain date, without affecting previous tax calculations.

Other countries may potentially follow the IRS’s lead in the future

I wouldn’t be surprised if this wallet-tracking rule starts spreading to other parts of the world in the coming years.

Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and many other countries all apply a fairly similar tax treatment to cryptocurrencies as the United States. While they haven’t introduced anything like this yet, it shouldn’t be ruled out.

It was clear from the start that tougher crypto tax laws were on the way, and the IRS made no secret of it. Earlier in 2024, it ramped up their efforts by bringing in private-sector experts from the crypto world to help bolster their approach to taxing crypto.

It’s not unusual for countries to adopt tax rules that have already been implemented elsewhere, and this has happened with crypto in a few cases already.

Take the approach of taxing short-term crypto gains while leaving long-term gains tax-free — something countries like Germany and Malta have already adopted.

Portugal, for example, had no crypto taxes until 2023. Then, it added a 28% tax on short-term gains, while long-term holders still get a break.

As crypto continues to grow and gain traction worldwide, staying on top of tax laws around the world is becoming more and more important.

Over the next couple of years, I expect we’ll see a lot of changes in how governments handle crypto taxes.

Bitcoin miner Argo Blockchain announced a CEO departure and interim leadership changes.

Argo Blockchain, the British dual-listed Bitcoin (BTC) mining company, has revealed that CEO Thomas Chippas will step down from his role and board position, effective Feb. 28. 

CFO Jim MacCallum will step in as interim CEO while the company conducts a search for a permanent successor.

Chippas, who joined Argo in November 2023, led several financial improvements during his tenure. These included the early repayment of the company’s Galaxy loan and strengthening its balance sheet.

Argo’s heavy losses

Despite these initiatives, Argo continues to face significant challenges. According to Finance Magnates, the company reported a $6.3 million net loss in Q3 2024, with revenue falling 28% year over year to $7.5 million.

In December, Argo raised $5.3 million through a share subscription to support strategic initiatives. These included relocating or selling mining equipment from its Helios facility in Texas and maintaining operations in Quebec, Canada.

The company’s latest mining report highlights stagnant production, with 39 Bitcoin mined in December — the same figure as November — marking a five-month low.

Christian’s journey with the written word began long before the age of Bitcoin. In the hallowed halls of academia, he honed his craft as a feature writer for his college paper. This early love for storytelling paved the way for a successful stint as an editor at a data engineering firm, where his first-month essay win funded a months-long supply of doggie and kitty treats – a testament to his dedication to his furry companions (more on that later).

Christian then roamed the world of journalism, working at newspapers in Canada and even South Korea. He finally settled down at a local news giant in his hometown in the Philippines for a decade, becoming a total news junkie. But then, something new caught his eye: cryptocurrency. It was like a treasure hunt mixed with storytelling – right up his alley!

So, he landed a killer gig at NewsBTC, where he’s one of the go-to guys for all things crypto. He breaks down this confusing stuff into bite-sized pieces, making it easy for anyone to understand (he salutes his management team for teaching him this skill).

Think Christian’s all work and no play? Not a chance! When he’s not at his computer, you’ll find him indulging his passion for motorbikes. A true gearhead, Christian loves tinkering with his bike and savoring the joy of the open road on his 320-cc Yamaha R3. Once a speed demon who hit 120mph (a feat he vowed never to repeat), he now prefers leisurely rides along the coast, enjoying the wind in his thinning hair.

Speaking of chill, Christian’s got a crew of furry friends waiting for him at home. Two cats and a dog. He swears cats are way smarter than dogs (sorry, Grizzly), but he adores them all anyway. Apparently, watching his pets just chillin’ helps him analyze and write meticulously formatted articles even better.

Here’s the thing about this guy: He works a lot, but he keeps himself fueled by enough coffee to make it through the day – and some seriously delicious (Filipino) food. He says a delectable meal is the secret ingredient to a killer article. And after a long day of crypto crusading, he unwinds with some rum (mixed with milk) while watching slapstick movies.

Looking ahead, Christian sees a bright future with NewsBTC. He says he sees himself privileged to be part of an awesome organization, sharing his expertise and passion with a community he values, and fellow editors – and bosses – he deeply respects.

So, the next time you tread into the world of cryptocurrency, remember the man behind the words – the crypto crusader, the grease monkey, and the feline philosopher, all rolled into one.

Kingdom Holding, the investment firm of Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, won’t invest in cryptocurrency in the near future because it has not been adopted as a payment method for goods and services, CEO Talal Ibrahim al-Maiman said, Reuters reported.

The prince, a senior member of the Saudi royal family is known for his Warren Buffett-style value investing approach and, like him, has consistently shunned crypto. The company’s estimated $13.6 billion in assets are held in a diversified portfolio that includes holdings in finance, hospitality, health care, media, technology and real estate companies.

“We support Mr. Buffet’s theory that you don’t buy with, don’t invest in, so as we cannot buy any goods with cryptocurrencies, therefore we are currently not looking into investing in them,” Al-Maiman said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, according to Reuters.

Rumors on social media have for long suggested that the Saudi royal family would invest in cryptocurrencies, and the recently improved U.S. regulatory outlook given President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance was seen as a catalyst for that investment.

Al-Waleed’s public comments on bitcoin reflect the company’s crypto concerns. In 2017, the Saudi prince said he believes the cryptocurrency is “just going to implode one day.”