US Seized BTC/ETH Deposit to Coinbase Prime Raises Sell-Speculation

The US government deposited nearly $297M of seized Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to Coinbase Prime, according to Arkham Intelligence. The latest data cites 3,940 BTC (about $243.95M) and 30,014 ETH (about $53.09M) moved into Coinbase Prime-linked wallets tied to past forfeiture cases. Crypto researcher Alex Thorn said the BTC traces back to assets seized from “ryan farace (xanaxman)” and the defunct btc-e exchange. The ETH is linked to Brian Krewson, an Oracle employee tied to a reported $54M crypto storage and alleged money-laundering case. Traders are watching because a 2025 executive order said seized Bitcoin should feed a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and not be sold. But deposits into Coinbase Prime do not prove liquidation. Coinbase Prime is primarily a custody and institutional execution venue, so the transfer may reflect asset consolidation or custody migration rather than an immediate sell. This is also one of the larger government-linked flows to Coinbase Prime this year, following prior transfers that included LINK from FTX/Alameda-linked seizures and small BTC tied to the 2016 Bitfinex hack. Near-term price impact hinges on whether BTC and ETH later show withdrawals toward liquidity venues and order books. If outflows stay limited, the market signal is closer to “hold” than “sell.”