Although the move caused some selloff speculation, the assets may simply have been transferred for custody. So far, the broader crypto market showed very little reaction to the big moves.
US Government Moves More Crypto
The US government transferred almost $300 million worth of seized Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime on Monday, which quickly caused speculation that the assets could be sold. Blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence shows that 3,940 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $243.95 million, and 30,014 ETH worth around $53.09 million were moved to Coinbase Prime.
According to Galaxy Research head Alex Thorn, the Bitcoin originated from assets that were seized from Ryan Farace, also known as "Xanaxman," and the defunct cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e. The ETH was traced to Brian Krewson, a former Oracle employee who was implicated in a $54 million crypto storage and money laundering scheme.
The transfers attracted attention because they seem to contradict US President Donald Trump's March 2025 executive order establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The order states that Bitcoin seized by the federal government should be kept as part of the reserve rather than sold.
However, the transfers do not necessarily indicate that a sale will happen. Coinbase Prime provides institutional services that extend beyond trading, including secure custody, financing, and staking. As a result, the assets may simply have been moved for custodial or administrative purposes rather than liquidation.
The US government previously transferred seized digital assets to Coinbase Prime. In June, government-linked wallets moved about 98,600 Chainlink tokens connected to assets seized from FTX and Alameda Research. In April, approximately 8.2 Bitcoin linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack was also transferred to the platform.
Despite the latest transaction, the US government is still one of the world's largest holders of seized digital assets. Government-linked wallets contain around $20.6 billion in cryptocurrency, including approximately 325,000 Bitcoin, 28,000 ETH, 146 million USDT, and 750 Wrapped Bitcoin.
Crypto prices over the past 24 hours (Source: CoinCodex)
So far, the market reaction to the move has been relatively muted. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin jumped around 0.12% as sentiment weakened due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, while ETH also traded slightly up by roughly 0.49% during the same period.
