US Government Moves 12,267 Bitcoin From Bitfinex Hack Wallet, No Sale Signaled

Wallets linked to the US government moved 12,267 bitcoin, worth about $1.01 billion, on Thursday, according to Arkham data. The coins left a wallet holding funds seized in the 2016 Bitfinex hack and went to a new, unlabeled address, while a second transaction sent a portion to a different address. No exchange deposit was recorded, a pattern that looks more like wallet reshuffling than a sale.

Coinbase Prime Deposits Add Context

The move follows busier exchange-bound activity a day earlier, when roughly 3,200 BTC (about $264 million) and $119 million in USDT landed at Coinbase Prime deposit addresses. Arkham traced those funds to wallets tied to the FTX and Alameda seizures as well as Bitfinex. A separate transfer on Wednesday involved more than $100 million in BTC and BNB, and in July about $288 million in seized bitcoin and ether was routed to Coinbase Prime through fresh intermediary wallets.

Will the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Hold?

A deposit to Coinbase Prime does not automatically mean a sale, since the platform also offers custody. A March 2025 executive order directed forfeited bitcoin into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and said it should not be sold. The government still holds about $25.5 billion worth of crypto, according to Arkham.