U.S. government wallets move $1 billion in Bitfinex-hack bitcoin, no exchange deposit
In brief
- Government-linked wallets moved 12,267 BTC, worth about $1.01 billion, on Thursday, per Arkham data.
- Bitfinex-hack seizure wallet from 2016 was the source of the moved coins.
- No exchange deposit was recorded; CoinDesk read the pattern as reshuffling rather than a sale.
- Coinbase Prime addresses received about 3,200 BTC and $119 million in USDT a day earlier.
- U.S. government still holds about $25.5 billion in crypto, Arkham data shows.
No exchange deposit
That last detail is the one that matters. CoinDesk characterized the pattern as more consistent with wallet reshuffling than a sale, since none of the 12,267 BTC was deposited to an exchange.
It's a quieter move than the one a day earlier.
Twenty-four hours before Thursday's transfer, roughly 3,200 BTC (about $264 million) and $119 million in USDT were deposited into Coinbase Prime addresses. Arkham identified those funds as coming from wallets tied to the FTX/Alameda and Bitfinex seizures, according to CoinDesk. A Coinbase Prime deposit doesn't necessarily mean a sale, though, because the platform also provides custody services.
A run of seized-coin transfers
This isn't a one-off. CoinDesk reported on Wednesday that more than $100 million in BTC and BNB moved in a similar fashion, and in July about $288 million in seized bitcoin and ether was routed to Coinbase Prime via fresh intermediary wallets.
So there's a pattern of government-linked wallets shuffling forfeited crypto around (some of it toward Coinbase Prime, some of it, like Thursday's batch, toward addresses nobody has labeled yet). On-chain watchers can see the coins move. They can't see intent.
The reserve backdrop
There's a policy layer here too. A March 2025 executive order directed that forfeited bitcoin be placed into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and said it shouldn't be sold, according to CoinDesk's description of the order.
The scale isn't small. Arkham data shows the U.S. government still holds about $25.5 billion worth of crypto, and Thursday's $1.01 billion transfer came out of that stockpile's Bitfinex-linked wallets.
Where do the coins go next? Arkham's data doesn't say. For now, they've only landed in addresses it hasn't labeled, and none of them hit an exchange.
Frequently asked questions
Did the U.S. government sell the Bitfinex bitcoin it moved on Thursday?
On-chain data shows no exchange deposit. The 12,267 BTC went to a new, unlabeled address, a second transaction went to a different address, and no exchange deposit was recorded. CoinDesk said that pattern looks more like wallet reshuffling than a sale.
Does a deposit to Coinbase Prime mean the government is selling crypto?
Not necessarily. Coinbase Prime also provides custody services, so a deposit there doesn't confirm a sale. A day before Thursday's transfer, about 3,200 BTC and $119 million in USDT from seizure-linked wallets went to Coinbase Prime addresses, according to Arkham.
How much crypto does the U.S. government still hold?
Arkham data shows the U.S. government still holds about $25.5 billion worth of crypto. A March 2025 executive order directed that forfeited bitcoin be placed into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and said it shouldn't be sold, according to CoinDesk.
