US Government Transfers $288M in Seized Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime

TL;DR

• U.S. government-linked wallets transferred approximately $288 million in seized Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime.

• Around 3,800 BTC moved through intermediary wallets before reaching Coinbase Prime, while 30,007 ETH was transferred directly.

• The transfers come despite a March 2025 executive order directing that seized Bitcoin be retained in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve rather than sold.

The U.S. government transferred approximately $288 million worth of seized cryptocurrencies to Coinbase Prime on Monday, according to on-chain data tracked by blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence.

The transactions involved both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) linked to previous criminal seizure cases. While the transfers have sparked speculation that the assets could be sold, the movements alone do not confirm that the government intends to liquidate its holdings.

Bitcoin Routed Through Intermediary Wallets

Blockchain data shows that Bitcoin transfers followed a two-step process before reaching Coinbase Prime.

THE US GOVERNMENT JUST DEPOSITED $280M OF CRYPTO TO COINBASE PRIME

The US Government just deposited a total of $288.33M of BTC and ETH to Coinbase Prime. This includes confiscations from Brian Krewson, BTC-e, and Ryan Farace.

Will they be selling it all? pic.twitter.com/M5srRI3KJU

— Arkham (@arkham) July 13, 2026

A wallet associated with the Ryan Farace ("xanaxman") case transferred 2,875 BTC, worth approximately $178 million, to a newly created intermediary address. Minutes later, the entire balance was forwarded to a Coinbase Prime deposit wallet.

A second government wallet connected to the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e followed a similar pattern, moving 925.512 BTC, valued at roughly $57 million, through another intermediary wallet before the funds arrived at Coinbase Prime.

Both intermediary wallets were emptied immediately after the transfers, suggesting they were used solely as temporary routing addresses.

Unlike the Bitcoin transactions, the Ethereum transfer did not involve intermediary wallets.

A government-controlled wallet linked to Brian Krewson, an Oracle employee accused in a $54 million money laundering scheme, sent 30,007 ETH, worth approximately $53.1 million, directly to a Coinbase Prime deposit address.

The differing transfer methods suggest the government used separate operational procedures for Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions.

Arkham also detected another transfer involving 140.214 BTC between government-controlled Coinbase Prime wallets and a Coinbase cold storage wallet.

Because the transaction appeared as both an inflow and an outflow within Coinbase's infrastructure, analysts believe it was likely an internal custody or asset management transfer rather than an external transaction.

Transfer Does Not Confirm Asset Sale

Although moving digital assets to an exchange often precedes a sale, Coinbase Prime serves multiple institutional functions beyond trading.

The platform provides custody, financing, settlement, and portfolio management services, meaning assets can be transferred there without being immediately sold.

Nevertheless, large cryptocurrency holders—including governments—typically store long-term holdings in cold wallets for security. As a result, transfers to exchange-linked addresses are commonly viewed by market participants as potential preparation for liquidation or portfolio reallocation, including conversion into stablecoins.

The timing of the transfers has attracted attention because they follow President Donald Trump's March 2025 executive order, which established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

The order directed that seized Bitcoin designated for the reserve should be retained rather than sold, making Monday's transfers notable even if no liquidation ultimately occurs.

At this stage, there is no public evidence that the government has sold any of the transferred assets.

US Government Still Holds Over $20 Billion in Crypto

Despite the latest transfers, the U.S. government remains one of the world's largest cryptocurrency holders.

According to Arkham data, government-controlled wallets still contain approximately $20.65 billion in digital assets, including:

• 324,552 BTC

• 28,394 ETH

• 145.549 million USDT

Compared with the government's overall crypto portfolio, the $288 million transferred on Monday represents only a small fraction of its total holdings.