- The US government has filed a civil complaint to seize 20.2 BTC (worth US$2.4M) from the ransomware group Chaos.
- If approved, these funds could be added to the proposed US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
- Estimates of the US government’s total Bitcoin holdings vary wildly. While some trackers show around 198,000 BTC, a recent FOIA request revealed the US Marshals Service only controls 28,988 BTC.
The US government is moving to claim over US$2.4M (AU$3.69M) of Bitcoin seized from Chaos, a ransomware group.
A civil forfeiture complaint filed last Thursday in the Northern District of Texas seeks control of 20.2 BTC seized by the Dallas FBI.
The US might add it to its planned Bitcoin national reserve, thanks to President Donald Trump’s executive order, which states that seized Bitcoin must be added to a federal reserve pool. The Texas US Attorney’s Office confirmed the move in a Monday statement.
The Dallas FBI carried out the seizure on April 15, as part of its wider crackdown on ransomware networks that have come to depend heavily on cryptocurrency for extortion payments and laundering.
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It is the latest in a string of high-profile digital asset confiscations. Authorities are also keen on cracking down on “pig butchering”, a popular online scam based on building a long-term relationship with a victim before defrauding them of their crypto holdings.
Pig butchering is, unfortunately, quite popular in Australia. A few months ago, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) was tasked with dissolving nearly 100 companies suspected of engaging in this type of scam.
How Much BTC Does the US Government Have?
The official size of US Bitcoin holdings remains murky. Estimates from Nansen, Arkham and BitcoinTreasuries.NET put the number near 198.000 BTC, mostly from past law enforcement seizures.
But a Freedom of Information Act request has thrown those figures into question, with independent journalist L0la L33tz stating that the Department of Justice’s reply to their March request revealed that the US Marshals Service currently controls only 28.988 BTC, excluding coins held by other agencies such as the DEA, FBI and various US Attorney’s Offices.
Arkham echoed that point on July 23, noting that multiple agencies seize and hold Bitcoin separately, but the team insists its own data still shows at least 198.000 BTC in government-linked addresses and says none of it has moved for four months.
L33tz counters that many trackers don’t distinguish between coins that are merely seized and those formally forfeited, meaning some may not yet legally belong to the government.
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