Key Takeaways
- A FOIA request confirms the US Marshals Service holds just below 29,000 BTC in forfeited property.
- This determine is far smaller than earlier estimates of 200,000 Bitcoin, which might be about $23.5 billion as we speak.
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A newly launched FOIA response exhibits the US authorities holds simply 28,988 Bitcoin, price round $3.3 billion, far lower than the extensively cited 200,000 BTC determine.
The information got here from the US Marshals Service (USMS) in response to a March 24 request by unbiased journalist L0la L333tz. The company, which manages forfeited digital property, confirmed it holds just below 29,000 BTC.
That quantity is 86% decrease than earlier public estimates, which valued the federal government’s stash at over 23 billion {dollars}.
Belongings tracked by instruments like Arkham’s authorities pockets tracker typically embody seized BTC, similar to cash from the Bitfinex hack, which can nonetheless be below litigation and never but forfeited. This implies the federal government can not legally liquidate them and not using a forfeiture order in place.
The USMS checklist seems to incorporate solely property formally forfeited to the federal government, excluding BTC nonetheless held by companies just like the FBI or DEA. For the reason that USMS conducts public auctions for liquidations, the checklist is presumed present and correct.
A follow-up FOIA request is underway to confirm whether or not Coinbase Prime is custoding the holdings.
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