Wallets tied to the U.S. government transferred 12,267 bitcoin on Thursday, worth about $1.01 billion at the time, according to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, as reported by CoinDesk. The coins came from a wallet holding funds seized after the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
The bitcoin went to a new address with no label, and a second transaction sent funds to another address. Arkham recorded no deposit to an exchange. CoinDesk said this pattern looks more like the government reorganizing its wallets than selling.
The move followed heavier activity toward an exchange a day earlier. Roughly 3,200 BTC, about $264 million, plus $119 million in USDT went into Coinbase Prime addresses from wallets Arkham linked to the FTX/Alameda and Bitfinex seizures. Back in July, roughly $288 million of seized bitcoin and ether also reached Coinbase Prime through newly created intermediary wallets.
Coinbase Prime also offers custody, so deposits there do not necessarily mean a sale. A March 2025 executive order said forfeited bitcoin should be placed in a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and should not be sold. According to Arkham, government wallets still contain crypto worth about $25.5 billion.
Why it matters for beginners
Large transfers by governments often spark fears of heavy selling. But blockchain data only shows that coins moved, not why they moved or what happens next. Analytics firms label wallets based on their own research, and those labels can be incomplete. Treat headlines about big transfers with care and wait for clearer evidence, such as confirmed exchange sales, before drawing conclusions.
Source
Finvane summary of reporting by CoinDesk. Facts and figures come from the original report; the wording is ours.
Read the original report: U.S. government moves $1 billion in bitcoin tied to Bitfinex hack, with no sign of sale ↗For education only, not financial advice. Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose money.