U.S. Government Transfers $288M in Seized Bitcoin and Ether to Coinbase Prime

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Crypto seized in the Farace and BTC-e cases was moved through newly created intermediary wallets before reaching Coinbase Prime, despite President Donald Trump’s previous order directing seized bitcoin to be held rather than sold.

The U.S. government transferred roughly $288 million worth of seized bitcoin and ether to Coinbase Prime, with blockchain data from Arkham showing the movement occurred over about 12 hours on Monday. While the ether transfer went directly to the exchange, the bitcoin transactions followed a more complex route through temporary wallets.

The transfers come despite a March 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump that established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and instructed agencies to retain seized bitcoin rather than liquidate it.

A government-controlled wallet linked to Ryan Farace, known as the “xanaxman” case, transferred 2,875 BTC worth approximately $178 million to a newly generated address. Minutes later, that wallet sent the entire balance to a Coinbase Prime deposit address.

Another wallet associated with the former BTC-e exchange seizure followed a similar process, moving 925.512 BTC valued at about $57 million through an intermediary address before depositing the funds at Coinbase Prime. Both temporary wallets were emptied after the transfers.

The ether movement followed a different path. A wallet connected to Brian Krewson, who was involved in a $54 million Oracle employee laundering case, transferred 30,007 ETH worth roughly $53.09 million directly to a Coinbase Prime deposit address without using an intermediary wallet.

Separately, 140.214 BTC moved between government-linked Coinbase Prime addresses and a Coinbase cold wallet. Arkham’s analysis suggests this transaction was likely an internal custody transfer rather than a new external deposit.

The movement of Farace and BTC-e bitcoin to an exchange does not necessarily indicate an upcoming sale, as Coinbase Prime also provides institutional custody, financing, and asset management services.

However, exchange deposits are often viewed by markets as potential preparation for selling or converting assets into other cryptocurrencies or stablecoins, since large crypto holdings are typically stored in offline cold wallets for security.

Despite the size of the transfer, it represents only a small portion of the government’s overall crypto holdings. The related wallets still contain around $20.65 billion in assets, including approximately 324,552 BTC, 28,394 ETH, and 145.5 million USDT.