Blockchain wallets linked to the U.S. government transferred more than $288 million worth of bitcoin and ether to Coinbase Prime on Monday.
Where the coins came from
According to data from onchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence, the wallets moved roughly 3,800.5 BTC and 30,007 ETH across multiple transactions.
The batches originated from seized assets, some tied to high-profile cases labeled by Arkham under the names Ryan Farace and Brian Krewson.
Farace was convicted of selling counterfeit Xanax pills on dark web marketplaces.
Krewson allegedly helped store and launder $54 million in crypto proceeds tied to narcotics trafficking.
Some of the moved assets were also connected to the defunct unlicensed exchange BTC-e, which reportedly processed billions in illicit funds before its shutdown in 2017.
Not necessarily a sale
Coinbase Prime serves institutional clients with custody, trading, and other crypto services.
While the transfers could theoretically precede a sale, they may not signal an imminent one.
A March 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump directed seized bitcoin into the country’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and instructed federal agencies to stop selling seized assets.
A massive government stash
According to Arkham, U.S. government-linked wallets hold a crypto portfolio estimated at over $20 billion.
That includes 324,552 BTC, largely from law enforcement seizures.
The holdings also span a variety of other cryptocurrencies, including USDT, BNB, and ZEC.
