The U.S. government moved about $288.33 million in seized Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime on Monday, according to on-chain tracker Arkham, reigniting speculation over whether federal authorities may be preparing to sell crypto they have previously said would be held.
What was transferred
The transfers took place over roughly half a day and included about 3,800 BTC worth $235 million and around 30,000 ETH worth $53 million. Arkham said the assets came from several criminal cases.
The Bitcoin was traced to funds seized from Ryan Farace, a dark-web dealer known as "Xanaxman," as well as from the defunct exchange BTC-e. Before reaching Coinbase Prime, the BTC moved through intermediary wallets.
The Ethereum was linked to a $54 million money-laundering case involving Oracle employee Brian Krewson. Unlike the Bitcoin transfers, the ETH went straight to a deposit address.
In a post on X, Arkham said the U.S. government had deposited a total of $288.33 million in BTC and ETH to Coinbase Prime, including confiscations tied to Brian Krewson, BTC-e, and Ryan Farace. The firm added a direct question to the market: "Will they be selling it all?"
Custody transfer or sale preparation
Large holders usually keep coins in cold storage, so wallet movements of this size tend to draw close attention. The U.S. government has not provided a public explanation for the transfers. That has led some parts of the market to read the move as "a signal for a potential sell-off," Tim Sun, Senior Researcher at crypto exchange HashKey, told Decrypt.
At the same time, the transfer does not by itself confirm that a sale is coming. The U.S. Marshals Service selected Coinbase Prime in 2024 to custody and trade forfeited digital assets, and the platform also handles financing and staging. On that basis, the transfers may simply show the government moving seized assets into managed custody.
Sun said it is still unclear whether the inflows are "in preparation for a sale or simply for the consolidation and custody of seized assets."
Where the never-sell rule applies
The transfers came after President Donald Trump’s executive order in March 2025 created a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and stated that government Bitcoin deposited into the reserve "shall not be sold."
Sun said only Bitcoin that has "completed the final forfeiture process" can be placed into the reserve and protected from sale. Even then, the order leaves room for exceptions, including cases where a court directs coins toward law enforcement use or victim restitution.
The coins moved on Monday came from active criminal cases, which means they are handled separately from the reserve. "The market needs to distinguish between Bitcoin held in the reserve and the U.S. government's broader balance-sheet holdings," Sun said.
Ethereum is outside that rule altogether. It falls under a separate Digital Asset Stockpile that the Treasury can manage within its legal authority, which Sun said gives the government "greater freedom of disposal."
Reserve framework still unsettled
Attention around the transfers has also been sharpened by the unsettled status of the reserve itself. It currently exists only through executive order. Bills that would write the reserve into law and impose a 20-year holding rule have stalled in Congress.
The Treasury Department and the Commerce Department are also still contesting who controls the assets. Arkham continues to track U.S. government wallets holding $20.6 billion in crypto, including 324,552 BTC. Against that total, the latest $288 million transfer is a very small portion of the government’s broader holdings.