Big reversal! Is Trump's "Bitcoin will never be sold" promise just scrap paper? The Department of Justice's $6 million sell-off unveils the beginning of the 2026 regulatory storm!

Folks! Today, the entire crypto circle was stunned by a "nuclear bomb"! Last year, Trump confidently declared "Bitcoin strategic reserves will never be sold," but today, the US Department of Justice treated it like toilet paper—selling over $6 million worth of BTC, freshly confiscated from Samourai Wallet developers, with details confirmed even by Bitcoin Magazine. This move directly caused market trauma, breaking the psychological barrier of $56,000 instantly!

Let me give new followers a quick lesson, and old followers can skip to the key points: In 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14233, loudly claiming to establish Bitcoin strategic reserves—"Never sell, as a store of national value for generations"—and warned that early sales could cause taxpayers to lose $17 billion. At that time, the market estimated the US government held at least 200,000 BTC. But what happened? The promise's shelf life was shorter than USDT's audit report—turning on a dime, a real-life "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" lesson in crypto!

1. Department of Justice "Refusal to Comply and Sell": Exposing the US regulatory internal conflict

The explosion isn't about the amount but the signal. 57.55 BTC, worth $6.36 million, compared to the estimated 200,000 BTC (over $100 billion) held by the US, is just "pocket change." But the core issue is—this is the DOJ openly "executing" the presidential executive order!

According to the "Asset Liquidation Agreement" leaked by Deep Tide TechFlow, USMS (U.S. Marshals Service) transferred these 57.55 BTC directly to Coinbase Prime address on November 3, 2025. What does this mean? Not only did they sell, but they did so silently. If on-chain data hadn't been uncovered, the entire market would still be in the dark!

This reveals a deeper internal US regulatory rift, more terrifying than any rate hike:

First, policy coherence has completely collapsed. Trump's executive order explicitly states "Seized Bitcoin must be included in the strategic reserve," but this move by the DOJ is like spitting in the White House's face. A government with two sets of rules—today, the DOJ can sell for $6 million; tomorrow, the Treasury might sell $600 million? The day after, will the Fed follow suit? Institutions fear not the fall but the rules being more volatile than prices.

Second, trust in regulation hits freezing point. The "crypto-friendly" atmosphere created in 2025 was shattered by this slap. Forbes' 2026 outlook report just said "Institutional adoption will deepen," yet the US itself is now fighting internally. Think about BlackRock, Fidelity, and other trillion-dollar asset managers who just started viewing BTC as a strategic asset—they now see that even the president's words can't restrain the DOJ. How will their risk control departments react? Compliance costs will double, and entry will slow down.

Third, setting a dangerous precedent. The Samourai case involved confiscated assets in a guilty plea agreement, not direct strategic reserve confiscation. The DOJ exploited this loophole—executive order 14233 only states "assets confiscated," not "confessed assets." Once this loophole opens, will there be more "creative interpretations"? Today, selling "confiscated funds"; tomorrow, selling "forfeited assets"; the day after, could even "technically sell" strategic reserves?

2. BTC trend in 2026: Short-term volatility intensifies, long-term logic remains unchanged

After the incident, BTC plunged from $56,000 to $55,300—about 1.2%. It seems small, but order book shows large sell pressure increased significantly. More critically, sentiment transmission—currently, 78% of addresses are in profit—any disturbance could trigger profit-taking.

But to old followers: stay calm. This shock is driven by emotion, not fundamentals. Here are some hardcore data points:

Support levels remain: $55,600–$54,000 is an institutional accumulation zone. On-chain data shows net outflows of 32,000 BTC from exchanges over the past 7 days, with large holders quietly bottoming.

Liquidity is abundant: Arthur Hayes' latest analysis indicates $612 billion liquidity will flow into the market in Q1 2025. The DOJ's volume is negligible in comparison.

Institutional holdings remain solid: BlackRock's iBit holds over 400,000 BTC; Fidelity and Ark Invest continue to add positions. Their decision cycles are measured in months, not hours.

What to really watch out for is chain reactions. Coinbase's premium index has turned negative, indicating retail investors are fleeing, and institutions are watching. If more "default sales" happen in the next few days, market confidence will be severely damaged. Hotcoin Research warns: 2026 is a "weak cycle, long bull market," volatility will decrease, but black swan events could cause sharper declines.

3. Samourai case: a carefully planned "edge case"

The BTC sold wasn't from nowhere. In November 2025, Samourai Wallet developers Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill pleaded guilty, admitting to laundering $2.5 billion via mixing services, and agreed to surrender 57.55 BTC as part of settlement.

The DOJ's "cleverness" lies in: Executive Order 14233 only states "confiscated assets" as reserves, not whether "confessed assets" count. They exploited this wording loophole. But the market only recognizes legal terms—whether the government is selling coins or not.

More intriguing is the timeline:

• November 3, 2025: BTC transferred to Coinbase Prime

• November 7, 2025: Trump wins the election, market begins to hype "strategic reserve" concept

• December 2025: Bitcoin Magazine uncovers the news, market reacts

This suggests the DOJ may have sold in advance of the election results—either preemptively predicting Trump would back out or simply ignoring the executive order. Either way, it shows internal US disagreements over crypto policy have reached a boiling point.

4. Major certainties for the crypto market in 2026

Despite policy chaos, the big trends for 2026 are clear. Reports from Forbes, Grayscale, Coinbase show remarkable consistency:

1. Institutionalization is an irreversible wave

Coinbase data shows $21.4 billion net inflow into spot ETFs in 2025, a record high. Grayscale's report states: "2026 is the dawn of the institutional era," with 401(k) pension funds possibly opening crypto allocations. Even 1% of inflow is over $10 billion. The DOJ's small moves can't stop this trillion-dollar asset management trend.

2. Regulatory clarity accelerates

The GENIUS Act has passed; stablecoin regulation framework will be implemented in Q1 2026; ETH spot ETF approval is in final stages. "Regulatory certainty," once a pipe dream, is becoming reality. Morgan Stanley just filed ETF applications for BTC and SOL—Wall Street is voting with actions—they trust rules more than promises.

3. Fundamental tech changes

Ethereum's Fusake hard fork increased performance by 40%; Solana's Alpenglow upgrade pushes TPS to 150,000; Bitcoin Layer 2 locked-up assets surpass $5 billion. On-chain data is more honest than policy noise: DeFi total lock-up rebounded 60% from lows in 2025; NFT monthly trading volume returned to $1 billion.

5. Operational strategies: don't be led by emotion, focus on hardcore indicators

Here are some practical tips:

4. Short-term (1-2 weeks): Support at $54,000–$55,600. Don't buy the dip before the DOJ event fully unfolds. Overhead resistance at $57,000–$58,500—breaking through requires volume; otherwise, it's a trap.

5. Mid-term (3-6 months): Focus on two core indicators—weekly ETF holdings data and Coinbase premium index. As long as institutional holdings grow by at least 2% week-over-week, and the premium index stays above -0.5%, the trend remains healthy.

6. Long-term (2026): The three pillars—rate cuts, institutionalization, tech upgrades—remain unchanged. Grayscale predicts ETH could reach $7,000–$20,000; XRP is eyed by institutions up to $8. Remember: "Sell in euphoria, buy in panic." Next sharp dip is a buying opportunity.

7. Avoid minefields: steer clear of trash coins and small-cap projects. 2026 is dominated by "institutional aesthetics"—they only trust BTC, ETH, SOL, and compliant RWA projects. Coins without ETF holdings will see liquidity dry up.

8. Mindset management: the DOJ event proves that in crypto, policies matter, but promises don't. Trump's promises will shatter; Biden's policies may change, but the total supply of 21 million BTC won't. Focus on on-chain data; don't be swayed by Twitter sentiment.

Conclusion: rules will break, but trends won't

Trump's "never sell" promise is essentially a politician's pie in the sky. The DOJ's actions tell us: in Washington, legal provisions are more powerful than presidential tweets. But this doesn't change the core narrative of 2026—institutionalization, compliance, and mainstream adoption.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink recently said at the Davos Forum: "Bitcoin is evolving into a global asset class." JPMorgan reports that institutional crypto allocations will jump from 3% in 2024 to 12% in 2025. These are real votes.

Samourai's 57 BTC—sold or not—only tore off the mask of policy, not the foundation of the market. What truly influences prices is whether 2026's global pension funds will enter, whether central banks will increase holdings, and whether Wall Street will treat blockchain as core infrastructure.

So, folks, don't be scared off by the $6 million noise. Look at the $612 billion liquidity tide. This policy blunder is actually a test of your conviction in holdings.

Like, comment, and share this article to let more people see the truth! Drop your thoughts in the comments—do you think BTC can break $100,000 in 2026? Or will policy blunders hold it back? Follow me so you won't get lost, next time I’ll continue analyzing institutional holdings and take you through bull and bear cycles!