US government moves 12,267 BTC from seized Bitfinex stash to a new address

News Editor

2026-10-09 03:40:29

Arkham data shows a wallet tied to the U.S. government moved 12,267 BTC on Oct. 8 at 9:33 a.m. Eastern Time from funds seized in the Bitfinex hack case, with the transfer valued at about $1.01 billion. Reports from Decrypt and CoinDesk said nearly all of the bitcoin was sent to a newly created unlabeled address, while 0.0012 BTC went to a second wallet. The funds were not sent to an exchange, and CoinDesk said the pattern looked more like wallet management than a sale. Decrypt added that Arkham marked both outputs as spent, indicating the bitcoin moved again after the initial transfer. The assets trace back to roughly 94,000 BTC seized in 2022 from Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, in connection with the 2016 Bitfinex hack. Earlier in the week, government-linked wallets also moved about $119 million in USDT and some bitcoin to Coinbase Prime, alongside other transfers involving seized assets tied to FTX/Alameda and Bitfinex.

A wallet linked to the U.S. government moved 12,267 BTC on Oct. 8 at 9:33 a.m. Eastern Time from an address holding bitcoin seized in the Bitfinex hack case, according to Arkham data. The transfer was worth about $1.01 billion.

Decrypt and CoinDesk reported that almost all of the bitcoin was sent to a new unlabeled address. Another 0.0012 BTC was sent to a second wallet.

The funds did not go to an exchange

The bitcoin was not transferred to an exchange, and wallet-to-wallet movement does not necessarily indicate a sale. CoinDesk said the pattern looked more like wallet reorganization.

Decrypt, however, said Arkham had already marked both outputs as spent, which means the bitcoin moved again after the initial transfer.

Assets came from the 2022 seizure tied to the 2016 Bitfinex hack

The bitcoin came from roughly 94,000 BTC seized by U.S. authorities in 2022 from Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan, who were identified in the report as the main suspects in the 2016 Bitfinex hack.

Other government-linked transfers were recorded earlier this week

Earlier in the week, the U.S. government made a similar move. On Oct. 7, a government-linked wallet sent about $119 million in USDT and a batch of bitcoin to Coinbase Prime. The funds came from two seizure cases tied to FTX/Alameda and Bitfinex.

On the same day, more than $100 million in seized bitcoin and BNB was also moved out. In July this year, the government also transferred about $288 million in seized crypto assets to Coinbase Prime.

The report noted that Coinbase Prime also provides custody services, so a transfer there does not necessarily mean the assets will be sold.

Executive order says seized bitcoin should go into the strategic reserve

According to the report, an executive order signed by Donald Trump in March 2025 requires seized bitcoin to be placed into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and not sold. Treasury Secretary Bessent said in August that year that the government would study ways to expand the reserve without increasing the budget.

Based on Arkham data, Decrypt estimated that the U.S. government still holds about 306,795 BTC.

This article was originally published by Bit.Fan. For more cryptocurrency news and market insights, visit www.bit.fan.

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