Recent findings suggest the United States Marshals Service (USMS) possesses significantly fewer Bitcoins than previously estimated. Official records indicate a holding of under 29,000 BTC, a far cry from the widespread belief that the government controlled upwards of 200,000 BTC.
Independent crypto journalist L0la L33tz obtained the revised figures through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, confirming that as of March 2025, the USMS held 28,988 BTC. This information was released on July 16th.
Valued at current market prices, this hoard is worth around $3.4 billion. This figure is substantially lower than the $23.5 billion valuation proposed by blockchain analysis firms like Arkham Intelligence and platforms tracking Bitcoin treasuries.
The considerable difference has sparked considerable debate within the cryptocurrency community. Some observers are speculating whether the US government may have quietly liquidated a portion of its Bitcoin assets.
[Editor’s Note: Given that President Trump previously declared seized Bitcoin would form a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, it’s plausible the assets are no longer under US Marshals Service oversight. However, clarity regarding who currently controls the private keys for these on-chain Bitcoins remains elusive.]
Has the US Government Sold Off Its Bitcoin?
Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey suggested that the U.S. likely disposed of a large fraction of its Bitcoin stockpile ahead of President Donald Trump taking office in January. He observed that the limited evidence of on-chain transactions might not be revealing because of the use of custodial solutions.
He asserted:
“In my view, they have definitely been selling Bitcoin, and they have managed to do this without triggering scrutiny from public blockchains.”
Bitcoin analyst Sani, who monitors cryptocurrency addresses potentially linked to the US government, verified that there were no recent movements from the wallets under observation.
However, he cautioned that if custodians like Coinbase are facilitating off-chain transactions, tracking government-related movements through traditional blockchain data becomes significantly more difficult.
Sani commented:
“If these assumptions are correct, the monitoring we have been doing for government wallets might have become almost irrelevant.”
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a known proponent of establishing a national Bitcoin reserve, voiced her concerns about this development. She stated:
“If these rumors are true, the U.S. has severely weakened itself strategically and reduced its competitiveness in the worldwide Bitcoin market.”
Distinguishing Seized Bitcoin from Forfeited Bitcoin
L33tz clarified that her FOIA inquiry only covered “forfeited” Bitcoin, meaning assets that have been legally transferred and are now the property of the US government.
According to her account, many seized Bitcoin assets, such as those linked to active investigations or major hacks like the Bitfinex breach, are still not officially government property. These could be held by agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
She indicated that analysis platforms such as Arkham might present an inaccurate representation by combining seized and forfeited crypto assets. L33tz cited an example:
“For instance, Arkham identifies 94,000 Bitcoin related to the Bitfinex hack, but the resolution of the Bitfinex case has not yet occurred, the last time I checked.”
Blockchain security expert Taylor Monahan added further perspective, explaining that temporary custody of the assets doesn’t necessarily mean the government owns them.
She explained that the seized Bitcoin often remains the property of the original victims of hacks and crimes, so they will likely never become the property of the United States government.
Monahan referenced ongoing legal proceedings which can range from civil forfeiture to IEEPA, and that these processes determine the rightful owner of the seized digital property.
She pointed out a case where the FBI holds $40 million worth of crypto coins as the result of an August 2024 theft, but the funds will be returned to the victims under the terms of the agreed plea agreement.
In light of this context, Monahan observed:
“In the majority of the seizures conducted by the US government, the Bitcoin will eventually go back to its original owners who were compromised by illicit activity.”