Tech investor and Crypto Czar David Sacks has called into question the U.S. government’s handling of confiscated Bitcoin, asserting that “bad long-term strategy” has led to taxpayers losing out to the tune of billions.

David Sacks wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on March 6 that in the past decade, the federal government sold about 195,000 Bitcoin for a total of $366 million. “If the government had held Bitcoin, it would be worth over $17 billion today. That’s how much it has cost American taxpayers not to have a long-term strategy,” Sacks posted on X.

Seized Bitcoin assets could have liberated taxpayers’ burden

Much of the Bitcoin that the U.S government has been selling appears to involve law enforcement seizures, including those related to Silk Road and other criminal activity.

Silk Road, a notorious dark web marketplace, was taken down in 2013 and its creator Ross Ulbricht was arrested who has become a free man since then, as U.S President Donald Trump released him from prison.

Authorities received about 144,000 Bitcoin from Ulbricht’s wallets, which they subsequently auctioned off via the U.S. Marshals Service.

Due to their sale in multiple batches from 2014, the digital asset was bought at much lower prices than the value today. It was a historic case in which the U.S government invoked its seizure of crypto assets and liquidation policies.

Governments may need to reconsider a long-term approach to cryptocurrencies, rather than seeking immediate cash through liquidation, believes Sacks. Critics have countered that it is not a government role to make speculative bets on crypto assets, but those who support Sacks' perspective have stated that holding Bitcoin would have substantially paid off for taxpayers.

Why did Crypto Czar sell his Bitcoins?

On March 4, Sacks confirmed that he sold his Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) before joining the Trump administration to avoid any perceived conflicts of interest. In the role of White House crypto czar, he is responsible for defining U.S. policy for cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.

In a post on social media platform X, Sacks said he had sold all his crypto before joining the government.

Concerns that he still maintained significant indirect holdings of crypto evaporated when he additionally sold his Bitwise ETF stake on Jan. 22. There are special rules for public officials to not hold any digital asset to refute arguments of centralization of cryptocurrencies.