The U.S. government transferred US$770 million in Bitcoin to Coinbase. Why did it take action now?

美国政府两天内转移约9,261枚比特币至Coinbase Prime，价值约7.7亿美元

美国政府在两天内将价值约7.7亿美元的约9,261枚比特币转移至Coinbase Prime。其中包括数千枚与刑事扣押相关的硬币，以及2,456枚此前未被标记为政府持有的比特币。

主要摘要

• 两天内共向Coinbase Prime转移了9,261枚比特币，总转移价值约为7.7亿美元。
• 近一半的比特币来自Bitfinex黑客攻击案件的追缴资金，另有2,456枚比特币此前缺乏政府归属标签。
• Coinbase Prime提供托管和交易服务，因此仅凭转账行为并不能证明政府正在出售资产。
• 特朗普总统的储备命令禁止出售储备比特币，但法律上允许法院命令下的转移以及与受害者相关的资金返还。
• Galaxy Research估计，目前与政府相关的链上地址中持有约319,086枚比特币。

资金来源分析

Galaxy Research在10月8日的链上分析报告中指出，此次转移的比特币中，近一半来自2016年Bitfinex黑客攻击案的追回资金。另一部分可追溯至此前已知的与Binance（币安）相关的扣押案件，而其中2,456枚比特币的来源此前并未出现在该研究公司对政府钱包的标签记录中。

Galaxy said the previously unidentified coins "may represent a new law enforcement seizure." This assessment is based on the path they were transferred to the same Coinbase Prime deposit address used to store government assets. However, no Justice Department or U.S. Marshals Service statements reviewed in this report confirmed the new seizure involving the 2,456 bitcoins.

The latest flow of funds combines bitcoins related to different federal cases rather than a single $770 million seizure case. Galaxy tracked the movement of approximately 834 bitcoins on October 6, and subsequently made a larger transfer on October 7, bringing the total for the two days to approximately 9,261 bitcoins.

Special legal status of Bitfinex-related funds

According to Galaxy, nearly half of the funds were related to bitcoins recovered by Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan in the 2016 Bitfinex hack. The U.S. Department of Justice said Lichtenstein stole 119,754 bitcoins from Bitfinex and attempted to launder money through exchanges, mixers and other services. Federal agents seized more than 94,000 bitcoins in 2022 after obtaining private keys from some stolen money wallets.

Bitfinex-related funds have special legal distinctions. Previous reports stated that a federal court ordered the return of more than 94,000 recovered BTC to Bitfinex as part of the compensation process. The order covers 94,643 bitcoins and their related forked assets. Galaxy pointed out that the primary address containing approximately 94,643 bitcoins has not yet been moved, which means that recent transfers related to Bitfinex-related do not represent a full recovery of the balance.

Some of the remaining bitcoins are linked by Galaxy to known Binance-related seizures. The research company did not clearly identify the specific law enforcement case behind each coin in its public post, so the legal status of individual parts depends on the respective confiscation proceedings.

Moving to Coinbase Prime is not the same as a sale

Although Coinbase Prime provides trading services as an institutional platform and its deposit address may raise questions about the sale, the platform also plays other roles for the federal government. In 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service selected Coinbase Prime to provide custody and advanced transaction services for large digital assets managed through the federal asset forfeiture system. Coinbase said agencies chose its platform after going through a competitive due diligence process.

Coinbase Prime currently integrates institutional custody, trading, financing and settlement functions on one platform. As a result, assets arriving at the platform can remain in custody without having to be sold. Previously, Federal Wallet transferred nearly $297 million worth of seized bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime in July, and there was no confirmation of immediate bitcoin clearing at the time. On-chain records can only show the address where assets entered Coinbase control, but cannot show whether subsequent internal transactions occurred. Confirming the sale requires further evidence of transactions, government disclosures or other records showing the disposal of assets.

Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Rules Limit Government Sales

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 6, 2025 to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve. The order stipulates that bitcoins deposited in reserves "may not be sold" and should be retained as a reserve asset in the United States. But this does not mean that all bitcoins temporarily controlled by federal agencies must remain in the government's name. The order specifically targets eligible government-owned bitcoins that have completed confiscation procedures and transferred to reserves.

The order also provides that government digital assets can be removed from federal control when a court order requires or authorities determine that the assets should be returned to identifiable victims. Assets can also be used for law enforcement operations, shared with state and local government agencies, or applied to statutory forfeiture requirements. The White House's 2025 Digital Assets Report later reiterated that Bitcoin in reserves will not normally be sold, and confiscated assets needed for victim compensation and other legal purposes will continue to be used for those purposes.

For Bitfinex-related coins, the compensation process therefore provides possible legal grounds for moving Bitcoin without violating the reserve lock-up policy. Transfers associated with returning stolen assets are different from selling reserve bitcoins on the market.

Galaxy finds more previously unmarked government bitcoins

In addition to the $770 million transfer, Galaxy's review brings another update. The Coinbase Prime deposit address was activated in December 2025 and has since received approximately 11,567 bitcoins. Of those, about 6,406 bitcoins came from addresses that had been flagged as U.S. government wallets. Another 5,160 bitcoins came from wallets that had not previously carried government tags, including the 2,456 bitcoins most recently involved. Galaxy classified the coins as likely government seized assets because they followed the same transfer route into the federal Coinbase Prime address.

Currently, the research institute estimates that approximately 319,086 bitcoins are held at government-related addresses. Among them, approximately 127,271 bitcoins were related to the Prince Group and LuBian cases, and approximately 94,643 bitcoins were related to the Bitfinex recovery case. These two groups of assets account for approximately 71% of the government balances tracked by Galaxy.

The number of 127,271 bitcoins is supported by a Department of Justice confiscation case. Prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit in October 2025 seeking to seize approximately 127,271 bitcoins linked to Prince Group founder Chen Zhi, saying the assets were in the custody of the U.S. government. The indictment remains a legal action against suspected proceeds of crime, and the Justice Department said the indictment is only an accusation until confirmed in court.

When reading the estimate of 319,086 bitcoins, the difference between government custody and government ownership remains important. Some seized assets are still subject to confiscation litigation, court orders or victim compensation, which means that the entire tracked balance should not be automatically treated as Bitcoin that is permanently part of the strategic Bitcoin reserve. Previous crypto news reports have pointed out that seized assets and ultimately confiscated government property have different legal status, so estimates of U.S. government Bitcoin holdings may be misleading.

Market Performance

According to the latest CoinGecko data, Bitcoin trading price is approximately US$82,537, down approximately 1.2% in 24 hours. Its intraday trading range is US$82,312 to US$83,713, with 24-hour trading volume of approximately US$34.1 billion.

Existing blockchain evidence does not prove that government transfers caused the price of Bitcoin to fall. The movement of 9,261 bitcoins indicates that the federally seized assets have been placed in custody of Coinbase Prime, but at the time of writing, no official disposal notices or confirmed market sales records have been issued.