US Government Moves $288 Million in Seized Crypto to Coinbase Prime

Wallets linked to the U.S. government moved roughly $288 million worth of seized bitcoin and ether onto Coinbase Prime over the course of about half a day on Monday, according to blockchain tracking data. The transfer stands out because it comes despite a 2025 executive order from President Trump that designated seized bitcoin for the country’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and explicitly stated it should not be sold.

Bitcoin Routed Through Fresh Intermediary Wallets

The bitcoin portion of the transfer followed an indirect path. A government wallet connected to a case involving Ryan Farace sent 2,875 BTC, worth close to $178 million, to a newly created address, which then forwarded the same amount to a Coinbase Prime deposit wallet within minutes. A separate wallet tied to the defunct BTC-e exchange followed the same pattern, sending 925.512 BTC, valued at $57 million, through a similar intermediary step before reaching Coinbase Prime. Both temporary wallets were emptied immediately after.

Ether Sent Directly to the Exchange

Unlike the bitcoin transfers, the ether movement skipped the extra step entirely. A wallet associated with a $54 million laundering case involving a former Oracle employee sent 30,007 ETH, worth just over $53 million, straight to a Coinbase Prime deposit address.

Separately, about 140 BTC moved between government-linked Coinbase Prime addresses and a Coinbase cold storage wallet, appearing on both sides of the transaction. This pattern is typically associated with internal reorganization of holdings rather than a sale.

Movement Doesn’t Confirm a Sale, But Raises Questions

Moving funds onto an exchange doesn’t automatically mean a sale has taken place, since platforms like Coinbase Prime also provide custody, financing, and staging services for large holders. Still, such movements are often viewed as early signals of a potential sale or asset conversion, since large crypto holdings are typically kept in cold storage for security rather than on exchanges.

Transfer Represents Small Fraction of Total Holdings

Despite the size of Monday’s transfer, it represents only a small portion of the government’s overall crypto holdings, which remain valued at approximately $20.65 billion. That total includes 324,552 BTC, 28,394 ETH, and 145.549 million USDT still held across various wallets.