Key Highlights
- $6.3 million worth of Bitcoin linked to the Samourai case moved to a Coinbase Prime address, sparking speculation.
- The DOJ says the transfer was administrative only.
- Executive Order 14233 requires federal agencies to keep seized Bitcoin in the Strategic Reserve instead of selling it.
The U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed that Bitcoin seized in the Samourai Wallet case has not been sold and remains under federal control.
The assets are now part of the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, created by the government to hold seized digital assets instead of auctioning them off. This marks a shift from earlier years, when agencies routinely sold confiscated Bitcoin.
The clarification comes after a recent report about $6.3 million worth of Bitcoin linked to the case being moved to a Coinbase Prime address. The transfer sparked speculation online that the government may have liquidated the funds. The DOJ says no sale occurred and that the movement was administrative.
Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the White House President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, publicly shared the DOJ’s confirmation.
In a post on X, he said the digital assets forfeited in the Samourai Wallet case have not been liquidated and will not be liquidated under Executive Order 14233. He added that Bitcoin will remain on the U.S. government’s balance sheet as part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
New policy behind the decision
Executive Order 14233, signed in March 2025, directs federal agencies to keep forfeited Bitcoin instead of selling it. The order places seized digital assets under the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which is managed by the U.S. Treasury.
The reserve is designed to hold government-owned crypto rather than treating it as property to be quickly sold off. While the government has not released the total amount of Bitcoin it currently holds, the Samourai Wallet funds will remain in federal custody.
The court case that led to the seizure
The Bitcoin was forfeited by Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
Prosecutors said their crypto-mixing service processed hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions, including funds linked to cybercrime, fraud, and darknet markets. As part of their plea agreements, the pair agreed to give up about 57 Bitcoin, worth roughly $6.3 million at the time.
In November 2025, both founders were sentenced to federal prison in a case that drew wide attention from the crypto community. Rodriguez received a five-year sentence, the maximum penalty under the charge, while Hill was sentenced to four years after admitting he helped criminals hide more than $237 million in illegal funds.
In December, the U.S. President Donald Trump said he would review a possible pardon for Rodriguez as he prepared to report to federal prison. Trump said he had heard about the case and that Attorney General Pam Bondi would look into it. The comments renewed debate in the crypto industry over the legal treatment of privacy-focused software developers.
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