Here’s another rewritten version with a more analytical news tone:
Bitcoin and ether seized in the Farace and BTC-e cases were recently moved to Coinbase Prime after passing through newly created intermediary wallets, raising questions about the handling of government-held crypto despite President Donald Trump’s earlier directive to retain seized bitcoin.
According to blockchain data from Arkham, government-linked wallets transferred approximately $288 million in seized digital assets to Coinbase Prime over a period of several hours on Monday. The ether portion was sent directly to the exchange, while the bitcoin transfers followed a two-step routing process through temporary addresses.
The transactions occurred despite a March 2025 executive order issued by President Trump that created the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and instructed authorities to hold seized bitcoin rather than sell it.
A wallet connected to the Ryan Farace “xanaxman” case transferred 2,875 BTC, worth about $178 million, to a newly created wallet. That address then moved the entire amount to a Coinbase Prime deposit wallet shortly afterward.
A separate wallet linked to the former BTC-e exchange seizure used a similar structure, sending 925.512 BTC valued at roughly $57 million through an intermediary address before transferring the funds to Coinbase Prime. Both temporary wallets were left with no remaining balance following the transfers.
The 30,007 ETH transfer tied to Brian Krewson’s Oracle-related laundering case took a different route, moving directly from the government-associated wallet to a Coinbase Prime deposit address. The transaction was valued at approximately $53.09 million.
In another movement, 140.214 BTC was transferred between government-controlled Coinbase Prime addresses and a Coinbase cold storage wallet. The transaction appeared to be an internal custody adjustment rather than a new exchange deposit.
The Coinbase Prime transfers do not confirm that the seized assets are being sold. The platform also serves as an institutional custody provider and supports asset management operations, meaning deposits can represent storage, settlement, or preparation for future activity.
Still, large crypto movements to exchanges are closely monitored because they can sometimes precede sales, conversions, or portfolio adjustments. Government holdings are generally kept in cold storage to reduce security risks, making exchange transfers more closely scrutinized.
The transferred assets represent only a small fraction of the government’s total crypto holdings. The associated wallets continue to hold roughly $20.65 billion worth of digital assets, including about 324,552 BTC, 28,394 ETH, and 145.5 million USDT.
