The US government moved roughly $1 billion in Bitcoin on October 8 from a seized Bitfinex wallet. The market panicked, but this is not a confirmed sale.
The funds went to two new addresses, and the larger transfers eventually landed at Coinbase Prime. Coinbase Prime is the US Marshals Service's chosen custody partner, so a deposit there can mean custody consolidation or preparation for execution. It does not automatically mean liquidation.
There is also a legal reason for the move. The Bitfinex hack is tied to an ongoing restitution process. In January 2025, prosecutors argued the seized Bitcoin should be returned to the exchange. Court-ordered victim restitution is one of the exceptions in Trump's executive order that allows government-held Bitcoin to leave federal holdings. This could be compliance with a court order, not a bearish dump.
The bigger context is that the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is still stuck on paper. It was created by executive order in March 2025, but it is mired in a Treasury vs. Commerce turf war over who has the authority to hold it. There is no active purchase program, and no taxpayer money is going in. The reserve only grows through forfeitures.
There is also a messy precedent. In November 2025, the US Marshals Service sold 57.55 BTC from the Samourai Wallet case through Coinbase Prime, despite the executive order prohibiting sales of forfeited Bitcoin. So there is real ambiguity about whether agencies are following the no-sell mandate in practice.
The funds went to two new addresses, and the larger transfers eventually landed at Coinbase Prime. Coinbase Prime is the US Marshals Service's chosen custody partner, so a deposit there can mean custody consolidation or preparation for execution. It does not automatically mean liquidation.
There is also a legal reason for the move. The Bitfinex hack is tied to an ongoing restitution process. In January 2025, prosecutors argued the seized Bitcoin should be returned to the exchange. Court-ordered victim restitution is one of the exceptions in Trump's executive order that allows government-held Bitcoin to leave federal holdings. This could be compliance with a court order, not a bearish dump.
The bigger context is that the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is still stuck on paper. It was created by executive order in March 2025, but it is mired in a Treasury vs. Commerce turf war over who has the authority to hold it. There is no active purchase program, and no taxpayer money is going in. The reserve only grows through forfeitures.
There is also a messy precedent. In November 2025, the US Marshals Service sold 57.55 BTC from the Samourai Wallet case through Coinbase Prime, despite the executive order prohibiting sales of forfeited Bitcoin. So there is real ambiguity about whether agencies are following the no-sell mandate in practice.