US Government Moves $1BN In Seized Bitcoin After $770MM Transfers
The US government completed another major transaction involving seized cryptocurrency hours after moving a significant amount of Bitcoin to a Coinbase Prime wallet.
Blockchain data from Wednesday showed that a wallet associated with crypto seized by the US government had transferred more than 12,267 Bitcoin (BTC), worth more than $1 billion at the time of publication. The move came just hours after similar transfers from the government totaling $770 million in BTC to a Coinbase Prime wallet.
Arkham Research linked the wallet moving the Bitcoin to the recovery of funds from the 2016 Bitfinex hack, in which hackers stole 119,756 BTC. The identity of the owner of the recipient address was unknown at the time of publication.
This is insane!
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 8, 2026
The U.S. government just transferred out another 12,267 $BTC ($1.01B).https://t.co/esJntewKzzhttps://t.co/sLXScezBrB pic.twitter.com/U64EA8AJwp
Cointelegraph reached out to the US Marshals and the Department of Justice for comment on the Coinbase Prime transfers but did not receive an immediate response.
Estimates suggest the US government held 328,372 BTC as of 2026, resulting from seized assets in criminal cases and investigations. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 establishing a strategic Bitcoin and crypto reserve, but lawmakers are still attempting to codify the order into law.
Previous movements from the government-labeled wallet have sparked speculation about potential liquidations, but a sale would conflict with US President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order, which specified that seized Bitcoin should not be sold and should become part of the country’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
In July, the US government moved $297 million in Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) to Coinbase Prime, with funds originating from high-profile US government crypto seizures.