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- U.S. government-linked wallets moved about 9,261 Bitcoin worth roughly $770 million to Coinbase Prime across two days.
- Nearly half of the transferred Bitcoin came from funds recovered from the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
- The transfers do not confirm a sale because Coinbase Prime provides custody services for the U.S. Marshals Service.
U.S. government-linked wallets have moved about 9,261 Bitcoin worth roughly $770 million to Coinbase Prime across two days, consolidating assets tied to several federal seizure cases.
The transfers do not show that the Bitcoin has been sold. Coinbase Prime has served as a custody and trading provider for seized digital assets managed by the U.S. Marshals Service since 2024.
Bitfinex Recoveries Make Up Nearly Half Of 9,261 BTC Transfer
On-chain tracking shows that close to half of the Bitcoin came from funds recovered from the 2016 Bitfinex hack. U.S. authorities seized billions of dollars in cryptocurrency connected to the theft after arresting Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan in 2022.
Another portion of the latest movement came from wallets previously linked to Binance-related seizures. The government transferred about 834 BTC to Coinbase Prime in the first batch, followed by a much larger movement the next day that took the combined total to roughly 9,261 BTC.
Another 2,456 BTC Came From Previously Unidentified Wallets
About 2,456 BTC included in the transfers came from addresses that had not previously been identified as U.S. government holdings.
Galaxy Research said the transfer path suggests the coins may represent previously unidentified law-enforcement seizures, although no federal agency has confirmed their source.
Galaxy estimates U.S. government-linked addresses now hold about 319,086 BTC. That total includes assets with different forfeiture and restitution statuses, meaning not all the Bitcoin necessarily becomes permanent government property.
Coinbase Prime Transfer Does Not Confirm a Bitcoin Sale
The U.S. Marshals Service selected Coinbase Prime in 2024 to provide custody and advanced trading services for large-cap digital assets handled through federal forfeiture programs. A transfer to Coinbase Prime can therefore represent custody, consolidation, victim restitution or another administrative step rather than an exchange sale.
A March 2025 executive order created the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and directed that Bitcoin finally forfeited to the government and deposited into the reserve should not be sold. Assets can still be returned to verified victims or disposed of where required by court orders and forfeiture laws.
No federal agency has announced a sale tied to the latest $770 million movement, leaving the purpose of the transfers unconfirmed.
