US Government Moves Bitcoin Seized in Glenn Olivio Case to Coinbase, Raising Strategic Reserve Questions

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.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on March 6, 2025, creating a Treasury-managed Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to consolidate bitcoin forfeited in criminal and civil cases. The holdings generally cannot be sold. The Treasury and Commerce departments were also authorized to develop ways to acquire more bitcoin without increasing the deficit, debt or burden on taxpayers, marking the first time the federal government had designated bitcoin as a long-term reserve asset.

As of March 4, 2026, U.S. government wallets tracked by Arkham held 328,272 bitcoin, a figure that had remained broadly unchanged over the past year. The government’s total crypto holdings were worth about $22.394 billion, including roughly $22 billion in bitcoin, down 26% from more than $30 billion when the order was signed in March 2025. A year on, the Treasury has yet to announce a budget-neutral acquisition strategy, leaving forfeited assets as the only source of additional holdings.