Trump's Bitcoin Policy Faces New Test

Government Moves $8.8M in Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime

Blockchain intelligence firm Arkham tracked an initial $8.8 million Bitcoin deposit sent to Coinbase Prime by the U.S. government on Monday.A wallet linked to the U.S. government deposited 140.214 $BTC to Coinbase Prime after four years of dormancy.The receiving Coinbase Prime address had previously recorded movements of funds seized from the founders of the Samourai Wallet platform.

A second, far larger transfer of $288.33 million followed roughly three hours later, combining assets forfeited across three separate criminal cases, including funds tied to Brian Krewson, the defunct exchange BTC-e, and dark web drug dealer Ryan Farace.

The No-Sell Mandate and Its Limits

Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, with the reserve capitalized by Bitcoin owned by the Department of Treasury that was forfeited through criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings.The order explicitly states that the United States will not sell Bitcoin deposited into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

The transfers complicate that picture, even if only on the surface. A transfer to a prime broker is not a sale, and seized coins still moving through forfeiture proceedings may be handled separately from the reserve entirely.Even so, the transfers have fueled speculation that the government may be taking preliminary steps toward a sale, though no official confirmation has emerged.

The U.S. remains the largest state holder of Bitcoin in the world, sitting on roughly 328,372 $BTC, but the reserve exists only by executive order, not by law.Congress introduced legislation to codify the Bitcoin reserve and lock in a 20-year holding period, but it has not yet passed. Until it does, the reserve's no-sell rule remains vulnerable to revision by any future administration.

Sources:BeInCrypto: US Government Sends $297 Million in Seized Crypto to Coinbase in One DayCrypto Briefing: US Government Deposits Seized Bitcoin and Ether into Coinbase PrimeWhite House Fact Sheet: President Trump Establishes the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve