Wallets attributed by Arkham to the U.S. government transferred more than $100 million of seized cryptocurrency on Tuesday, including 833.599 BTC valued near $71.6 million and approximately 40,285 BNB valued near $31.6 million.
The Bitcoin originated from wallets Arkham labels as forfeited funds connected with the Potapenko-Turogin and Bitfinex cases. CoinDesk’s transaction review found that the BTC passed through two unlabeled addresses and then reached addresses Arkham labels as Coinbase Prime deposits. The BNB, attributed to assets seized from Alameda Research, moved through two unlabeled Ethereum-compatible addresses.
The chain proves that the assets moved. It does not prove that the Bitcoin or BNB was sold. Coinbase Prime supports custody and other institutional services in addition to execution, and no sale confirmation or government disposal notice was identified during this scan.
The legal treatment also differs by asset. The March 2025 White House executive order says forfeited Bitcoin placed in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve shall not be sold. Non-Bitcoin assets fall under the separate Digital Asset Stockpile, where Treasury retains broader stewardship authority subject to law and specified exceptions.
TOKEN RECON ASSESSMENT
This movement clears the Whale Activity threshold because the source attribution, asset amounts, and onward BTC destination are documented. It does not clear the intent threshold for calling the move a liquidation. A confirmed sale, an auction notice, court-directed restitution, or a Treasury disclosure would materially change the interpretation. Until one appears, the defensible finding is a government custody movement with potential market significance, not verified selling.
Sources
CoinDesk, U.S. government moves BTC and BNB: https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/10/07/u-s-government-moves-over-usd100-million-in-btc-and-bnb-a-sale-hasn-t-been-confirmed
White House, Strategic Bitcoin Reserve executive order: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/establishment-of-the-strategic-bitcoin-reserve-and-united-states-digital-asset-stockpile/
Arkham, earlier analysis of government transfers to Coinbase Prime: https://info.arkm.com/research/why-the-u-s-government-moved-280m-of-crypto-to-coinbase-prime
