The US government just staged its seized crypto for an exchange, and it took an extra leap to get there.
Government-linked wallets transferred about $288 million worth of bitcoin and ether seized from Coinbase Prime in about half a day on Monday, according to Arkham blockchain data. Ether went straight, while bitcoin took a detour through intermediary wallets first.
These moves are happening despite a March 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump, who designated the seized bitcoin as the country’s strategic bitcoin reserve and said it should not be sold.
A government wallet linked to Ryan Farace, the “xanaxman” case, sent 2,875 BTC worth approximately $178 million to a new address, which transferred the entire amount to a Coinbase Prime custodial wallet minutes later.
A second wallet linked to the defunct BTC-e exchange sent 925,512 BTC worth $57 million via the same scheme, from the entry address, directly to Coinbase Prime. The two intermediate wallets have been emptied.
Ether has skipped the intermediate step. A wallet connected to Brian Krewson, the Oracle employee named in a $54 million laundering scheme, sent 30,007 ETH worth $53.09 million directly to a Coinbase Prime deposit address.
