U.S. Government Moves $566M in Seized Crypto to Coinbase Prime in Hours

Published October 8, 2026, 01:00 UTC. Based on on-chain analysis by Onchain Lens and Arkham Intelligence, and reporting by U.Today and The Crypto Times. This follows MABOnChain's coverage of the earlier October 7 wave, when the government moved about $103 million in crypto to Coinbase Prime.

The U.S. government moved about $565.87 million in seized cryptocurrency to Coinbase Prime over several hours on October 7, 2026, according to on-chain analyst Onchain Lens. The total is roughly five and a half times the $103 million the government shifted earlier the same day, making it the largest single wave of federal crypto transfers this year.

The funds come from two of the largest seizures in crypto history: the 2016 Bitfinex hack and the collapse of the FTX exchange and its trading arm Alameda Research. Most of the money moved in a $471.7 million batch, and a further 94.15 million USDT followed about 47 minutes before Onchain Lens published its report, U.Today reported.

The $471.7 million batch

Onchain Lens reported on October 7 that the government moved $471.7 million in assets linked to the Bitfinex hacker and FTX/Alameda seized funds to Coinbase Prime. The breakdown, per the analyst's post, was 3,974 BTC worth $329.95 million attributed to the Bitfinex hacker, 657.92 BTC worth $54.55 million from FTX/Alameda, 750.19 wrapped bitcoin (WBTC) worth $62.34 million from FTX/Alameda, and 24.89 million USDT worth $24.88 million from FTX/Alameda. The Crypto Times reported that some of the transfers passed through newly created wallets before reaching Coinbase Prime.

Data aggregated by The Crypto Times from Arkham Intelligence's October 7, 7:15 p.m. UTC snapshot added further detail. A transfer of 1,418 BTC worth about $118.37 million moved from an intermediate wallet to a Coinbase Prime address, having been received shortly before from another wallet. A separate transfer of 24.885 million USDT, worth $24.88 million, had taken place about two hours earlier, both originating from addresses labeled as U.S. government.

The 94.15 million USDT follow-up

The most recent transfer before Onchain Lens posted was 94.149 million USDT, valued at $94.15 million, which the analyst said came from seized funds related to FTX and Alameda. Combined with the $471.7 million batch, the two waves add up to about $565.87 million, the figure both U.Today and The Crypto Times used.

The Bitfinex-hacker bitcoin

The largest single component is the bitcoin tied to the Bitfinex hack. In August 2016, about 119,754 BTC was stolen from the Bitfinex exchange. U.S. authorities later recovered more than 94,000 BTC after gaining access to the private keys of hacker Ilya Lichtenstein. The seizure was worth about $3.6 billion at the time in 2022, and Lichtenstein later pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge, U.Today reported.

The FTX and Alameda assets

The rest of the wave came from assets seized in connection with the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research. The transfers covered three cryptocurrencies: native BTC, wrapped bitcoin, and USDT stablecoins. Government-linked wallets still carry a large remaining stock of FTX-linked assets, and the pattern of the transfers suggests the authorities are consolidating forfeited coins into a single custodial venue.

A transfer is not a sale

Moving funds to Coinbase Prime does not mean the assets are about to be sold. In 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service selected Coinbase Prime to provide custody and advanced trading for its large-cap digital asset portfolio, so a transfer there can reflect custody management, restitution preparation, or later sale. The U.S. government has not publicly stated the purpose of these particular transactions, U.Today reported.

The policy framework also matters. A March 2025 executive order established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and directed that forfeited bitcoin placed into it should not be sold. Arkham data cited by The Crypto Times listed total U.S. government-linked crypto holdings at about $26.68 billion across 618 addresses as of October 7, 7:15 p.m. UTC, dominated by about 319,000 BTC, with smaller holdings including 17,432 ETH, 22,175 WBNB, 13.572 million AUSDC, 10.596 million USDC, 6.603 million USDT and 2,205 WETH.

At a bitcoin price of about $83,278, the roughly 3,974 BTC in this wave represents just over one percent of the government's bitcoin stock. No federal agency has announced a liquidation connected to these transactions.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• Onchain Lens, X post on U.S. government transfers to Coinbase Prime (Oct. 7, 2026), primary source
• U.Today, US Government Moves Half a Billion Worth of Crypto in Just Few Hours (Oct. 7, 2026)
• The Crypto Times, U.S. Government Moves Over $565M to Coinbase Prime in Seized Assets (Oct. 8, 2026)
• CoinDesk via cryptonews.net, U.S. government moves over $100 million in BTC and BNB. A sale hasn't been confirmed (Oct. 7, 2026)