Wallets controlled by the US government moved about $288 million in seized bitcoin and ether to Coinbase Prime on Monday, July 13, according to blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence reported by CoinDesk. Coinbase Prime is the institutional arm of Coinbase that provides trading, custody, and financing for large clients, including federal agencies. The transfers pulled roughly 3,800 BTC from two criminal seizure wallets and 30,007 ETH from a third. They landed on the exchange 16 months after President Donald Trump ordered seized bitcoin into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that is not supposed to be sold. An exchange deposit does not prove a sale. It is still the most common first step before one.
Key takeaways
- A government wallet tied to the Ryan Farace “Xanaxman” case sent 2,875 BTC worth about $178 million to Coinbase Prime through a freshly created intermediary wallet.
- A second wallet linked to BTC-e, the exchange US authorities shut down in 2017, moved 925.5 BTC worth about $57 million using the same two-step pattern.
- A wallet connected to a $54 million laundering case sent 30,007 ETH worth $53.09 million directly to a Coinbase Prime deposit address.
- Government wallets still hold about $20.65 billion in crypto, so Monday’s transfers cover roughly 1.4% of the pile.
Published: July 14, 2026, 09:45 UTC
Two hops from seizure to exchange
All of the bitcoin took a detour through brand-new wallets before reaching the exchange. The wallet holding coins forfeited by Ryan Farace, a Maryland man convicted in a dark-web Xanax trafficking case, sent 2,875 BTC to a new address, which forwarded the entire balance to a Coinbase Prime deposit wallet minutes later. A second wallet holding 925.512 BTC from the BTC-e seizure repeated the pattern, and both intermediary wallets were left empty.
The ether skipped the middle step. A wallet that CoinDesk linked to Brian Krewson, an Oracle employee named in a $54 million laundering scheme, sent 30,007 ETH straight to a Coinbase Prime deposit address.
A separate 140.2 BTC also moved between government Coinbase Prime addresses and a Coinbase cold wallet on the same day. That pattern is consistent with internal shuffling rather than a sale. Coinbase Prime has handled custody for the US Marshals Service since 2024, so some traffic between government wallets and the exchange is routine.
A no-sell order meets an exchange deposit
The March 2025 executive order that created the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve states that bitcoin deposited into the reserve shall not be sold. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is a government stockpile that holds bitcoin forfeited in criminal and civil cases, and the White House has described it as a permanent store of value. The same order placed other seized tokens, including ether, in a separate Digital Asset Stockpile that the Treasury Department has more freedom to manage or sell.
That distinction matters here. The ether transfer sits closer to normal practice, while the bitcoin moves are the ones that appear to cut against stated policy. There is also a gap the government has never clarified in public: coins tied to open cases can be returned to victims or liquidated under court order before they ever enter the reserve, and officials have not said which bucket these coins fall in. No agency had confirmed the purpose of the transfers as of publication, per Crypto Briefing.
The timing adds a political layer. The transfers landed as the Senate resumed work on the Clarity Act, the market-structure bill that has already drawn scrutiny over federal officials’ crypto holdings.
What it means for the market
At about $288 million, the transfers equal roughly 1.4% of the $20.65 billion in crypto that Arkham tracks across government wallets, a stash that includes 324,552 BTC, 28,394 ETH, and 145.5 million USDT. Even a full sale of Monday’s batch would be small against daily bitcoin trading volume in the tens of billions of dollars.
The signal is the bigger risk. Bitcoin traded near $62,600 on Tuesday as the Iran conflict pushed oil higher and traders raised bets on a July Fed rate hike ahead of the June inflation report. In that setting, a first confirmed sale from the reserve would test the credibility of the no-sell policy and could weigh on sentiment well beyond the dollar amount involved. Large holders trimming bitcoin has already been a theme this month: Empery Digital sold about half its corporate stack last week to fund an AI data center push.
What to watch next is where the coins go from here. A move into Coinbase cold custody would point to housekeeping. A quiet disappearance into exchange flows, or a statement from the Justice Department or Treasury, would answer the sale question directly, a scenario traders are already pricing in.
Frequently asked questions
Did the US government sell the seized bitcoin?
Not as of July 14. Arkham data shows deposits to Coinbase Prime, not executed trades. Coinbase Prime also provides custody and financing, so the coins may simply be parked. A confirmed sale would show up in official disclosures or in later exchange flow data.
What is the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve?
The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is a US government stockpile created by a March 2025 executive order. It holds bitcoin forfeited in criminal and civil cases and directs agencies not to sell it. Other seized tokens, including ether, sit in a separate Digital Asset Stockpile that the Treasury can manage more freely.
How much crypto does the US government hold?
Arkham tracks about $20.65 billion across government-linked wallets, including 324,552 BTC, 28,394 ETH, and 145.5 million USDT. The $288 million moved on Monday equals roughly 1.4% of that total, so the holdings remain largely intact regardless of what happens to this batch.
