US Government Sends $297 Million in Seized Crypto to Coinbase in One Day

The US government sent $297 million in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to Coinbase Prime in two transfers on Monday. Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham tracked an initial $8.8 million deposit, then a second $288.33 million deposit three hours later.

The larger transfer combines forfeitures from three separate criminal cases. It includes assets tied to Brian Krewson, the defunct BTC-e exchange, and dark web drug dealer Ryan Farace.

A Pattern Tracked Before

This is not the first false alarm from a Coinbase Prime deposit. Forfeited funds moved the same way in January, sparking Samourai Bitcoin sale rumors. The government has repeated the move with other seized assets since then.

It sent seized FTX Chainlink tokens to Coinbase Prime in June and seized Alameda altcoins in May. Neither transfer turned into a confirmed sale.

Monday’s transfers follow the same script, but at a larger scale. Three unrelated forfeiture cases moved to Coinbase Prime within hours of each other, but the question stays open until Treasury or the Marshals Service comments directly on a sale.

Executive Order, Still Not Law

Trump’s March 2025 executive order created the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve partly aimed at baring the government from selling its Bitcoin holdings. But the rule exists only by executive decision, not statute.

Congress introduced the codify Bitcoin reserve bill in May to lock in a 20-year holding period. It has not advanced past committee with many seeing it as a strong indicator of this administrations belief in Bitcoin. However, as BTC continues to be sent to exchange wallets, people are speculating as to the intention behind these moves.

The US’s Dark Bitcoin

Much of the US government’s Bitcoin holdings trace back to criminal forfeitures. Monday’s deposit combines three of the highest-profile cases.

Krewson helped store and launder $54 million in crypto for two convicted drug traffickers, the Department of Justice said. BTC-e ran as an unlicensed exchange from 2011 to 2017. It processed more than $9 billion before its shutdown, according to DOJ court filings.

Farace generated over 9,138 Bitcoin from dark web drug sales. He received a 54-month sentence in 2023.

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