US Government Moves $1B in Seized Bitcoin Linked to 2016 Bitfinex Hack

The US government transferred more than 12,267 Bitcoin (BTC), valued at over $1 billion, from a wallet tied to seized cryptocurrency assets on Wednesday. The transaction came just hours after the same wallet moved approximately $770 million in BTC to a Coinbase Prime wallet, marking one of the largest government crypto movements in recent memory. Blockchain analytics platform Arkham Research identified the wallet as connected to funds recovered from the 2016 Bitfinex hack, in which attackers stole 119,756 BTC.

The recipient address for the latest $1 billion transfer remained unidentified at the time of writing. Cointelegraph reached out to the US Marshals Service and the Department of Justice for comment on the Coinbase Prime transfers but had not received a response by press time. The rapid succession of transactions has drawn attention from blockchain analysts tracking government-held crypto reserves and ongoing enforcement actions tied to historic exchange exploits.

Estimates suggest the US government held approximately 328,372 BTC as of 2026, accumulated through seizures in criminal cases and federal investigations. In March 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin and crypto reserve, though lawmakers have yet to codify the directive into binding legislation. The latest transfers underscore the growing role of digital assets in US government financial operations and the ongoing complexities of managing seized cryptocurrency holdings.