Cryptocurrency wallets controlled by the U.S. government transferred 833.6 BTC and 40,285 BNB to Coinbase Prime and unlabeled addresses on Tuesday, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham. The combined transfer valued approximately $103.2 million, with Bitcoin accounting for $71.6 million and BNB for $31.63 million.
Arkham identified the wallets as belonging to the U.S. government through blockchain analysis. Some of the Bitcoin landed at Coinbase Prime, which market observers typically interpret as being deposited for sale, though the government has not announced whether a sale is planned. Coinbase Prime operates as both a trading service and custodian vault for institutional clients.
Strategic Reserve and Forfeiture Status
The transferred assets originate from different legal categories within U.S. government holdings. Bitcoin counts toward the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve only after it is finally forfeited; coins tied to open cases sit outside the reserve. The March 2025 executive order that created the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve mandates that forfeited Bitcoin “shall not be sold.”
BNB falls under a separate Digital Asset Stockpile managed by the Treasury Department. Treasury can release BNB only for victim repayment, law enforcement operations, or legal requirements.
The transfer echoes a larger pattern of government crypto movement. In July 2025, the U.S. government moved $288 million in cryptocurrency. In December 2024, the government sent 19,800 BTC from Silk Road seizures to Coinbase, valued at $1.92 billion at the time. That December transfer coincided with a 2% Bitcoin price decline within 24 hours.
Government Holdings and Forfeiture Cases
The U.S. government holds approximately 325,000 BTC, valued at roughly $27 billion and representing 1.6% of total Bitcoin supply, according to Arkham’s September research. This positions the U.S. as the largest government Bitcoin holder globally.
Some transferred Bitcoin traces to specific forfeiture cases. The government holds 568.7 BTC tied to HashFlare, a mining contract platform that operated between 2015 and 2019 and generated $577 million in sales. Co-founders Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin were sentenced to 16 months in August 2025 for operating the scheme.
The government also holds 264.9 BTC recovered from the 2016 Bitfinex hack, in which hacker Ilya Lichtenstein stole 119,754 BTC. In January 2025, the Justice Department argued that 94,643 BTC from that theft should be returned to Bitfinex.
Global Government Crypto Holdings
The U.S. government’s Bitcoin holdings dwarf those of other nations. The U.K. government holds 61,245 BTC, derived from a fraud affecting 120,000 Chinese pensioners. El Salvador holds 7,200 BTC, acquired through direct purchases and mining operations.
Arkham defines forfeiture as a court-signed order granting the government ownership of assets tied to a crime. This legal status determines whether assets can be sold or must be retained under the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve mandate.
