U.S. Government Moves $297 Million in Seized Crypto to Coinbase
The U.S. government has long held substantial amounts of Bitcoin and Ether obtained through criminal forfeitures and judicial seizures, making any movement of those assets a closely watched signal for crypto markets. The Trump administration had previously pledged to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and said the government would not sell its holdings. Large transfers from official wallets therefore immediately raised concerns about a potential liquidation, putting both cryptocurrency prices and the credibility of that policy in focus.
In mid-July 2026, the U.S. government transferred more than 3,900 Bitcoin and about 35,000 Ether to Coinbase Prime in a single day, including one transaction involving 5,939 ETH. Estimates valued the assets at approximately $288 million to $310 million. Because Coinbase Prime offers both institutional custody and trading services, the transfers indicate only that the government is using the platform; no sale has been confirmed. The market is closely tracking the assets’ subsequent on-chain movements.
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The history behind this eventU.S. Government Transfers $606,000 in Bitcoin Tied to Bitfinex Hack to Coinbase
Nearly 120,000 Bitcoin, then worth about $71 million, were stolen from virtual-asset exchange Bitfinex in August 2016. The U.S. Justice Department seized more than 94,000 Bitcoin in February 2022. Bitfinex previously issued Recovery Right Tokens to compensate affected users, making the return of the assets important for token redemptions and the subsequent distribution of proceeds.
On April 16, 2026, a wallet linked to the U.S. government transferred about 8.2 Bitcoin, worth roughly $606,000, to institutional trading platform Coinbase Prime. Bitfinex said it would use all returned funds to redeem its outstanding Recovery Right Tokens in full, with 80% of the remaining net proceeds allocated to repurchasing and burning UNUS SED LEO.
US Government Moves Bitcoin Seized in Glenn Olivio Case to Coinbase, Raising Strategic Reserve Questions
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 6, 2025, establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that would generally hold BTC obtained through criminal or civil forfeiture for the long term. The Glenn Olivio case involved steroid trafficking and money laundering, making the seized cryptocurrency a test of whether the new policy is being implemented. Any transfer to an exchange also shapes market perceptions of the government’s approach to disposing of the assets.
Blockchain monitoring showed that the US government transferred 2.438177 BTC seized in the Glenn Olivio case to Coinbase Prime in two transactions on April 10, 2026. The Bitcoin was worth about $177,400. Although the amount was small, government-labeled addresses reportedly held 328,369.55 BTC. The purpose of the transfers remains unconfirmed, and the deposits alone do not establish that the Bitcoin was sold.
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