US government moves $297M in seized Bitcoin, Ether to Coinbase Prime

The US government moved nearly $300 million in seized Bitcoin and Ether to Coinbase Prime on Monday, renewing speculation that the assets could be sold.

Data from Arkham shows 3,940 Bitcoin (BTC) (worth $243.95 million) and 30,014 Ether (ETH) (worth $53.09 million) were sent to Coinbase Prime on Monday. The funds were linked to several high-profile US government crypto seizures.

“These coin movements were comprised of coins seized from ryan farace (”xanaxman“) and defunct

crypto exchange

btc-e,” said Galaxy Research head Alex Thorn, referring to the Bitcoin movements. The Ether is linked to Brian Krewson, an Oracle employee implicated in a $54

million crypto

storage and money laundering scheme.

The transfers have drawn attention because a sale would appear to conflict with US President Donald Trumps March 2025 executive order, which said Bitcoin seized by the US government should form part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and should not be sold.

However, the deposits do not confirm a sale, as Coinbase Prime provides institutions with custody, trading, financing and staking services, meaning the transfers may simply reflect asset consolidation.

Related: US Bitcoin reserve hits snag as federal agencies debate for control: Bloomberg

Although the US government has previously transferred

cryptocurrency

to Coinbase Prime, Monday's transfer was one of the largest from government-linked wallets this year.

In June, a US government-linked wallet moved 98,589 Chainlink (LINK) tokens to the platform, with the funds traced to assets seized from FTX and Alameda Research. In April, around 8.2 Bitcoin tied to the 2016 Bitfinex hack was sent to Coinbase Prime.

US government-linked wallets are estimated to still hold $20.6 billion in crypto, including around 325,000 BTC, 28,000 ETH, 146 million USDT and 750 Wrappd Bitcoin (WBTC).