On Monday, the United States government moved about $288 million worth of seized Bitcoin and Ether to Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange. The digital coins were taken by law enforcement from past criminal cases. While moving crypto to an exchange often means it might be sold, the government still holds more than $20 billion in other digital assets.
The US government has just moved a massive amount of cryptocurrency that it previously seized from cybercriminals. On Monday, federal officials transferred about $288 million worth of Bitcoin and Ether to Coinbase Prime, a trading platform used by big businesses and governments.
Because the government took these coins from lawbreakers, crypto investors are closely watching to see if officials plan to sell them, which could affect market prices.
According to companies that track public blockchain data, the government moved the funds over a 12-hour period. In total, they transferred 3,800 Bitcoins (worth around $235 million) and 30,007 Ether coins (worth about $53 million).
These coins came from different federal cases:
- The Ether: This was taken from a former tech employee named Brian Krewson, who was involved in a $54 million money laundering case.
- The Bitcoin: The majority of the Bitcoin came from a well-known case involving a drug dealer named Ryan Farace. The rest came from a shut-down crypto exchange called BTC-e.
To move the Bitcoin, the government sent the coins to a brand-new, empty digital wallet first, before forwarding them to Coinbase.
When a person or organization moves cryptocurrency to an exchange like Coinbase, it usually means they are preparing to sell it. However, Coinbase also offers safe storage services for big clients. This means the government might just be storing the coins there rather than selling them immediately.
The timing of this transfer is highly debated. In early 2025, President Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to hold onto seized Bitcoin to help build a national “strategic reserve” instead of selling it off.
Even after moving this $288 million, the US government remains one of the largest cryptocurrency holders in the world. Federal wallets still hold over $20.6 billion worth of digital coins, which means this latest transfer is only a tiny fraction of what the government owns.
