The US Marshals Service (USMS) seems to carry just below 29,000 Bitcoin, far decrease than the greater than 200,000 BTC many believed the federal government had in custody.
The up to date determine, confirmed through a Freedom of Info Act (FOIA) request by unbiased crypto journalist L0la L33tz on July 16, places the federal government’s complete at 28,988 BTC as of March 2025.
At present costs, that stash is price roughly $3.4 billion. That starkly contrasts with the $23.5 billion estimate from blockchain analytics platforms like Arkham Intelligence and Bitcoin Treasuries.
The discrepancy has ignited hypothesis throughout the crypto area, with some observers questioning whether or not the US has been quietly promoting its Bitcoin holdings.
[Editor’s Note: Given that President Trump announced that seized Bitcoin would become part of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve earlier this year, it is also possible that the Bitcoin is simply no longer under US Marshals custody. However, who controls the keys for the Bitcoin tracked onchain remains unclear.]
Is the US promoting its Bitcoin?
Bitcoin Journal CEO David Bailey steered the US seemingly bought important parts of its BTC reserves earlier than President Donald Trump’s swearing-in in January. He famous that the shortage of seen on-chain exercise could not show something resulting from custodial involvement.
He said:
“I believe it’s conclusive they’ve been promoting with out creating onchain footprint.”
Bitcoin analyst Sani, who tracks addresses suspected to be linked to US authorities wallets, confirmed no latest transactions from these addresses.
Nonetheless, he identified that if custodians like Coinbase have been facilitating off-chain swaps, conventional blockchain monitoring could now not make clear authorities exercise.
Sani added:
“If that’s really what’s taking place, then all of the on-chain monitoring we’ve been doing, mine included, may not matter anymore.”
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a vocal advocate for a nationwide Bitcoin reserve, responded with concern to this growth. She stated:
“If true, this can be a complete strategic blunder and units america again years within the bitcoin race.”
Seized vs. forfeited Bitcoin
L33tz clarified that the FOIA request solely coated “forfeited” Bitcoin property legally transferred to authorities possession.
In accordance with her, many seized property, comparable to these tied to ongoing investigations or hacks like Bitfinex, are usually not but authorities property and will reside with different federal companies just like the DEA or FBI.
She emphasised that platforms like Arkham could misrepresent totals by lumping collectively seized and forfeited cash. L33tz identified:
“For instance, Arkham lists 94k BTC from the Bitfinex hack, however forfeiture within the Bitfinex case hasnt been determined, at the least final time I checked.”
Blockchain safety knowledgeable Taylor Monahan additionally provided additional rationalization, mentioning that authorized custody doesn’t equal possession.
She famous that in lots of circumstances, seized cash stay victims’ property and can by no means change into US authorities property.
Monahan highlighted ongoing authorized processes, starting from civil forfeiture to IEEPA, figuring out the destiny of seized property.
She cited a number of examples, together with a case the place the FBI at present holds $40 million in crypto linked to an August 2024 theft, however these cash are anticipated to be returned to the rightful proprietor underneath the phrases of a plea settlement.
Contemplating this, Monhan said:
“More often than not the cash seized by USG don’t change into property of the USG. They’re returned to the sufferer that was hacked or defrauded.”
