5 days ago
According to Arkham Intelligence, the US authorities inactive holds much than 198,000 Bitcoin. That’s astir $23.4 cardinal sitting successful integer wallets crossed respective agencies.
A caller nationalist spreadsheet showed conscionable 28,988.356 BTC nether the Marshals Service. But looking astatine FBI, IRS, DEA and Justice Department seizures makes the full leap acold higher.
Government Stash Spread Across Agencies
Based connected reports from the Marshals Service, 28,988.356 BTC—worth astir $3.45 billion—has been nether its power since July 15, 2025.
Other agencies don’t stock that information publicly. They negociate coins from transgression probes and prize auctions. Arkham gathered on‑chain information and linked addresses tied to each agency. When added, the full hits astatine slightest 198,012 BTC.
DID THE US GOVERNMENT JUST SELL 170,000 BTC ($20 BILLION)?
No. This Freedom of Information Request effect from the US Marshals Service (USMS) cites them arsenic holding 28,988 BTC ($3.4B), but different departments of the US Government besides prehend and clasp Bitcoin, including the FBI,… https://t.co/8kpjwyKcT9 pic.twitter.com/uB7EejUCVz
— Arkham (@arkham) July 23, 2025
In mundane terms, that means the US is simply a monolithic bitcoin “whale” that inactive owns astir 198,000 BTC. It’s not conscionable sitting astatine the Marshals Service.
The remainder is dispersed retired successful hidden pockets. Those coins haven’t moved successful the past 4 months. Traders who saw lone the Marshals fig panicked.
Senator Cynthia Lummis adjacent warned it would beryllium a “total strategical blunder” if the reserves truly fell beneath 30,000 BTC.
Arkham: The US Government presently holds astatine slightest 198,000 BTC ($23.5B) crossed aggregate addresses held by antithetic authorities arms. None of this has moved for 4 months. pic.twitter.com/nhWWeWqhmh
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) July 24, 2025
Big Cases Make Up Most Holdings
A immense chunk—114,599 BTC—came from the 2016 Bitfinex hack lawsuit against Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan. That haul unsocial counts for much than $13.65 billion.
Silk Road‑related seizures adhd astir 94,643 BTC. That breaks down into 51,680 BTC from James Zhong’s theft and 69,370 BTC linked to different hacker, sometimes called “Individual X.”
Other cases assistance pad the total. Arkham spotted $81.25 cardinal successful BTC taken from Alameda Research’s Binance accounts aft FTX collapsed.
Another $79.50 cardinal came from HashFlare scammers Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin. Even tiny hits similar 58.7 BTC from Ryan Farace’s lawsuit amusement up successful the concatenation records.
Sales Haven’t Touched Core Supply
The US sold 9,861 BTC worthy astir $215 cardinal successful March 2023 from the Zhong case. In August 2024, different 10,000 BTC went for $594 million.
Then successful December 2024, 10,000 BTC sold for astir $968 million. Despite that activity, the main piles from Bitfinex and Silk Road haven’t moved. Those coins inactive beryllium wherever seizing agencies near them.
Without a azygous nationalist ledger, each caller FOIA merchandise sparks caller rumors. Some traders jumped astatine the Marshals fig and drove prices up oregon down connected the news.
But knowing the existent 198,000 BTC fig could calm that. A maestro dashboard, updated successful adjacent existent time, would assistance chopped the play erstwhile auctions rotation around.
Featured representation from Getty Images, illustration from TradingView
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