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The U.S. government transferred nearly $288 million worth of seized bitcoin and ether to Coinbase Prime, with bitcoin from the Farace and BTC-e cases routed through newly created wallets before reaching the exchange. The move has sparked questions because it comes despite President Donald Trump’s earlier directive to preserve seized bitcoin holdings rather than sell them.

Data from blockchain analytics firm Arkham shows that government-controlled wallets moved the assets over a roughly half-day period on Monday. The ether transfer was sent directly to Coinbase Prime, while the bitcoin portion followed a more complex path involving intermediary addresses.

The transactions took place after Trump signed an executive order in March 2025 establishing the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which instructed authorities to retain seized bitcoin as a strategic asset instead of disposing of it.

A wallet associated with Ryan Farace’s “xanaxman” drug trafficking case transferred 2,875 BTC, valued at about $178 million, to a newly created wallet. Within minutes, that wallet transferred the full amount to a Coinbase Prime deposit address.

Another wallet tied to the former BTC-e exchange seizure moved 925.512 BTC worth roughly $57 million using a similar process, sending the funds through an intermediary wallet before depositing them at Coinbase Prime. Both temporary addresses were cleared after completing the transfers.

The 30,007 ETH transfer linked to Brian Krewson’s Oracle-related money laundering case followed a simpler route, moving directly from the government-associated wallet to a Coinbase Prime deposit address. The transaction was valued at approximately $53.09 million.

Separately, 140.214 BTC was moved between government-linked Coinbase Prime accounts and a Coinbase cold storage wallet. The transaction appears to reflect internal wallet management rather than a new transfer to the market.

The movement of seized crypto to Coinbase Prime does not necessarily mean a sale is imminent. The platform is widely used by institutions for custody, settlement, and other digital asset services, meaning deposits can serve multiple purposes.

Still, exchange transfers are closely monitored because they can sometimes indicate preparation for selling or converting assets. Large crypto holdings are typically kept in cold storage, making any move to exchange-linked wallets a point of market interest.

The latest transfer represents only a small fraction of the government’s total cryptocurrency holdings. The related wallets continue to hold approximately $20.65 billion in assets, including 324,552 BTC, 28,394 ETH, and 145.5 million USDT.