Crypto wallets believed to be linked to the U.S. federal government recently transferred digital assets worth over $100 million, according to blockchain analytics company Arkham.
The largest movement involved 833.599 Bitcoin, valued at roughly $72 million. The coins were sent from a government-associated wallet to two unidentified addresses. Both destinations later transferred the Bitcoin to addresses that Arkham identifies as deposit wallets belonging to Coinbase Prime.
Another transaction involved approximately 40,285 BNB, with a market value of roughly $31.60 million. The coins were first moved to an unidentified address and then transferred to another unidentified address.
Arkham’s records indicate that the Bitcoin originated from two separate pools of forfeited assets. One portion, totaling 568.7 Bitcoin, was associated with funds seized from Potapenko and Turogin. Another 264.9 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $22.9 million, originated from the investigation into the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
The latter funds were transferred to Coinbase Global on Oct. 6, following a federal court decision issued in 2025. The ruling directed that Bitcoin recovered from the breach should be sent back to Bitfinex in crypto rather than being liquidated for dollars.
Bitfinex has said it intends to use the Bitcoin to compensate people affected by the hack. The exchange has also committed to directing a minimum of 80 percent of the remaining proceeds toward repurchasing and permanently removing its UNUS SED LEO tokens from circulation.
The BNB transfers were among assets confiscated from Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research, the trading company associated with the collapsed FTX empire.
Government-controlled wallets still contain an estimated $27.50 billion worth of crypto, according to Arkham. The holdings consist entirely of assets taken through law enforcement and forfeiture proceedings.
Large government-linked transfers can trigger speculation about potential market sales. However, market commentator Jose Rosell noted on X that moving crypto cannot automatically be interpreted as selling it. He pointed to a presidential executive order issued in March 2025 under which BTC forfeited to the government is intended for inclusion in a Strategic BTC Reserve.
Coinbase Prime’s role also complicates any assumption that the transfers represent sales. The service provides institutional clients with both crypto trading and custody capabilities. In July 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service chose Coinbase Prime to oversee large-cap virtual assets connected to federal forfeiture cases. As a result, a transfer into one of its deposit addresses can reflect custody or administrative activity rather than an immediate market transaction.
Entities like MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR) that specialize in Bitcoin accumulation are likely to watch the market closely to see whether the digital assets moved by the feds end up being sold. Such an eventuality could provide attractive market entry positions for savvy traders.
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