U.S. government-linked wallets move over $100M in BTC and BNB, Arkham data shows
In brief
- U.S. government-linked wallets moved more than $100 million in crypto on Tuesday, Arkham data shows.
- 833.599 BTC, worth about $71.6 million, reached addresses Arkham labels as Coinbase Prime deposits.
- About 40,285 BNB from seized Alameda Research assets moved between two unlabeled addresses.
- No sale has been confirmed; CoinDesk said one didn't appear to be underway.
Where the bitcoin went
Bitcoin made up most of the move. A government-linked wallet sent 833.599 BTC, worth about $71.6 million at the time, to two addresses Arkham doesn't label. Within hours, both addresses passed the coins on to addresses Arkham tags as Coinbase Prime deposit addresses (that label is Arkham's, and nobody else has confirmed it).
The coins came from two sources. According to Arkham's labels, 568.7 BTC came from a wallet tied to Potapenko/Turogin forfeited funds, and 264.9 BTC came from coins seized in the Bitfinex hack case.
The BNB leg
A separate wallet Arkham labels as government-owned sent about 40,285 BNB, worth $31.63 million, to an unlabeled address, 0x7F68F63fB3A9CCCf352409603421E0A574FbAD90. That address then sent all of it on to a second unlabeled address, 0x6fB3Fe7b7E78AbB84CE007cBC7412C850B15A579. Arkham's data traces the BNB back to assets seized from Alameda Research.
Neither BNB address carries an Arkham label.
A transfer isn't a sale
Moves like this often spark fears of an impending sale. CoinDesk said that doesn't appear to be the case here, and nothing in the reported on-chain data confirms one.
Market commentator Jose Rosell pushed back on the sale reading in a post on X.
"A transfer is not the same as a sale."
Rosell added that under a March 2025 executive order, bitcoin forfeited to the government is meant to be held in a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. That's his reading of the policy. It isn't an official explanation for Tuesday's transfers, and the government hasn't offered one in the reporting.
For context, the U.S. government still holds about $27.5 billion in crypto, according to CoinDesk, all of it seized in enforcement actions. So far, it hasn't used taxpayer money to make new crypto purchases.
Frequently asked questions
Did the U.S. government sell bitcoin on Tuesday?
No one has confirmed a sale. Arkham data shows 833.599 BTC moved through two unlabeled addresses to addresses Arkham labels as Coinbase Prime deposits. CoinDesk said a sale didn't appear to be underway, and commentator Jose Rosell noted that a transfer is not the same as a sale.
Where did the government-linked bitcoin and BNB come from?
According to Arkham's labels, 568.7 BTC came from Potapenko/Turogin forfeited funds and 264.9 BTC came from coins seized in the Bitfinex hack case. The roughly 40,285 BNB came from assets seized from Alameda Research.
How much crypto does the U.S. government still hold?
The U.S. government still holds about $27.5 billion in crypto, according to CoinDesk, all of it seized in enforcement actions. So far it hasn't used taxpayer money to make new crypto purchases.
