US moves $470 million in seized crypto to Coinbase

The US government transferred about $470 million in seized Bitcoin, wrapped Bitcoin and USDT to addresses believed to belong to Coinbase Prime, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. The transfers took place on Oct. 7.

Arkham linked the assets to seizures involving the 2016 Bitfinex hack and Alameda Research, the trading firm previously controlled by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.

Coinbase Prime provides trading and custody services for institutional clients. A transfer to the platform does not confirm that the government sold the assets. The cryptocurrency could have been moved for custody, administrative management, restitution or liquidation.

The transfers come after President Donald Trump established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve in March 2025. The executive order creating the reserve stated that Bitcoin placed in it should not be sold and should be maintained as a US reserve asset.

The order allows digital assets to be disposed of when required by a court or law. It also permits the government to return assets or proceeds to verified crime victims, use them for law-enforcement purposes or apply them to other forfeiture obligations.

The Bitcoin linked to the Bitfinex hack may be subject to those exceptions. US authorities seized about 95,000 Bitcoin in 2022 from wallets controlled by Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan. Lichtenstein later admitted to hacking Bitfinex, where about 119,754 Bitcoin were stolen in 2016. Authorities later seized about $475 million in assets linked to the theft.

Those assets have been involved in forfeiture and restitution proceedings. Recovered funds may be used to compensate victims, which could affect how the cryptocurrency is held or transferred.

The collapse of FTX created separate criminal forfeiture proceedings. A judge in Bankman-Fried’s case authorized recovered forfeiture funds to compensate victims, providing another possible reason for government-controlled crypto to be transferred or converted.

The latest transfers follow a dispute earlier this year over Bitcoin seized in the Samourai Wallet criminal case. The US Marshals Service denied selling those coins and said crypto liquidations require approval at multiple levels before forfeited assets can be disposed of.

The government has not confirmed that the assets sent to Coinbase Prime were sold. The transactions do not establish whether the cryptocurrency remains with Coinbase, was transferred to another custodian or was exchanged for dollars.