On-chain data flagged by Arkham Intelligence shows that $250,000 worth of Shiba Inu tokens (contract address ethereum:0x95ad61b0a150d79219dcf64e1e6cc01f0b64c4ce), seized from FTX and Alameda
On-chain data flagged by Arkham Intelligence shows that $250,000 worth of Shiba Inu tokens (contract address ethereum:0x95ad61b0a150d79219dcf64e1e6cc01f0b64c4ce), seized from FTX and Alameda Research, have moved out of a US government wallet. The transfer is widely assumed to be earmarked for creditors as part of the ongoing FTX estate recovery process.
The memecoin movement is the latest in a series of government transfers that have drawn attention across crypto markets this week. On Monday, according to Arkham Intelligence, 3,940 Bitcoin and 30,014 Ethereum, totaling roughly $288 million, were sent to Coinbase Prime. A further $12.9 million followed on Tuesday, and another $9.29 million in $ETH moved on Wednesday.
Despite the scale of the flows, market participants should note an important distinction. Coinbase Prime serves as both custodian and trading venue. The US Marshals Service selected the platform in 2024 to provide custody and advanced trading services for large-cap digital assets, which means a deposit there can reflect custody consolidation as easily as sale preparation.
On-chain records show where funds moved, but they do not reveal the government's final instructions to Coinbase Prime. A confirmed sale would require further wallet activity, trading records, or an official statement. Until then, the transaction remains a custody or asset-management move rather than proof of liquidation.
The pattern has produced false alarms before. Seized FTX-linked Chainlink moved to Coinbase Prime in June, and seized Alameda altcoins in May; neither became a confirmed sale.
The transfers continue a months-long pattern in which the US government has funneled millions in forfeited crypto into exchanges. The latest batches have included Chainlink, Aave, Chiliz, and Balancer. The FTX estate's creditor repayment effort has been running in parallel. The FTX estate delivered its fourth creditor distribution round, worth $2.2 billion, in March.
In March 2025, President Trump signed an executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, with a public commitment that the government would not sell its $BTC holdings. But that pledge specifically covered Bitcoin. It did not extend the same protection to Ether or any other digital asset. That distinction matters given the volume of $ETH now passing through Coinbase Prime.
For now, the government has not published a formal liquidation schedule for the remaining FTX and Alameda assets. Blockchain analytics firms including Chainalysis and Arkham Intelligence monitor public blockchain transactions for wallet addresses known to be associated with government agencies, and these transfers are publicly visible on the blockchain, allowing anyone to track movements in real time.
SourcesThe Crypto Times: US Government Sends $288M in Seized Bitcoin, Ether to Coinbase PrimeCrypto Briefing: US Government Moves $288M in Seized Crypto to Coinbase PrimeCryptopolitan: US Government Moves $984,000 in Seized FTX, Alameda Assets to Coinbase
