Bitcoin under pressure as $30M from ‘lost’ drug dealer stash hits Coinbase – Details

The Irish drug dealer Clifton Collins is back in the news after Irish authorities recovered more of his seized Bitcoin. Collins acquired approximately 6,000 Bitcoin between 2011 and 2012.

In 2017, he was jailed after a drug-related arrest. Before the arrest, he printed his seed phrase and hid it inside a fishing rod.

However, the landlord later cleared the house and dumped his belongings in a landfill, including the private keys. In 2026, authorities continued recovering the lost Bitcoin and selling it as proceeds of crime.

How much Bitcoin did authorities recover?

The Irish authorities successfully recovered 500 BTC, worth $30.85 million, from Clifton Collins’ wallet and deposited it into Coinbase.

The recent seizure brought the total assets recovered from his wallets to 1,500 BTC, worth approximately $103 million. At its peak, Collins’ 6,000 BTC were worth approximately $757 million.

Despite the recovery effort, Clifton Collins’ addresses still held 4,500 BTC worth approximately $276 million. In fact, more than nine addresses remained untouched, and authorities have not confirmed whether the same decryption could apply to future operations.

Even so, the recovery suggested authorities could still access dormant wallets under certain circumstances.

In addition to Collins, Bitcoin [BTC] also saw sell-side activity from another long-term investor. Lookonchain reported that a wallet linked to Tim Draper deposited 1,000 BTC worth $61.82 million into Coinbase.

Tim Draper purchased 29,656 BTC from the seized Silk Road assets during the U.S. Marshals Service auction in 2014.

He bought the holdings for roughly $18.7 million, paying about $632 per BTC. At its peak, those holdings were worth $3.74 billion, before declining to approximately $1.8 billion.

Could these transfers pressure Bitcoin?

Meanwhile, transfers linked to Collins and Tim Draper coincided with a rise in Bitcoin’s Exchange Supply Ratio. In fact, the Exchange Supply Ratio climbed to a three-week high of 0.134.

The rising Exchange Supply Ratio suggested that more market participants had moved BTC onto exchanges, potentially increasing selling pressure. That shift left traders focused on broader market sentiment.

Higher Exchange Inflows also weighed on market sentiment. Meanwhile, the Stochastic Momentum Index remained in negative territory.

Although BTC rebounded to $62,000 and the Stochastic Momentum Index rose slightly, upside momentum remained weak. The ADX also supported this setup, as the negative index remained elevated at 23.

Taken together, these indicators suggested a weak structure that could lead to another decline. If sell-side activity continues, BTC could drop back to $60,000. However, if the recent rebound holds, Bitcoin could target the $65,600 resistance level.