U.S Government Deposits $288M in Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime

Published by

Rizwan Ansari

July 14, 2026

Statue of Liberty and falling Bitcoin on red background.

Just as the crypto market is trying to recover, the U.S. government moved $288 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime. The transfer has sparked a fear that the government could be preparing to sell its crypto holdings. If so, then this move could put pressure on Bitcoin and push prices lower.

US Government Moves $288M In Crypto To Coinbase Prime

According to Arkham Intelligence, U.S. government-linked wallets transferred 3,941 BTC worth about $244 million and 30,007 ETH valued at roughly $53.09 million to Coinbase Prime over the past eight hours.

The transfers involved crypto seized from cases linked to Ryan Farace, BTC-e, and Brian Krewson.

Despite all these transactions, the U.S. government remains one of the world’s largest Bitcoin holders. It controls around 324,552 BTC, 28,394 ETH, and digital assets worth more than $20.4 billion.

Timeline of Major U.S. Government Bitcoin Transfers

This isn’t the first time the U.S. government has moved a large amount of Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime. Here’s the list of transfers.

July 13, 2026: The U.S. government moved 140.21 BTC (about $8.79 million) to Coinbase Prime.
April 16, 2026: 8 BTC (about $606,000) linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack was transferred to Coinbase Prime.
April 10, 2026: Authorities sent 2.44 BTC (about $177,000) seized from the Glenn Olivio case to Coinbase Prime.
Dec 2, 2024: The government transferred 19,800 BTC (about $1.92 billion) seized from the Silk Road case to Coinbase Prime.
April 2, 2024: Around 30,175 BTC (about $2 billion) were moved to Coinbase Prime, marking one of the government’s biggest Bitcoin transfers.

Is the U.S. Government Selling Bitcoin?

Looking at previous transfers, there is no sign that the U.S. government plans to sell its Bitcoin. Instead, it has only moved the coins to Coinbase Prime.

Coinbase Prime serves as the institutional custodian for many U.S. government crypto assets. Funds are often transferred there for secure storage, wallet consolidation, legal processing, or victim restitution.

There is another reason why the sale is unlikely. In March 2025, the U.S. government signed an executive order that says it should keep most of its Bitcoin instead of selling it.

The government can only sell the coins in special cases, such as when a court orders money to be returned to victims or for other legal reasons. So, for now, this looks like a wallet transfer, not a Bitcoin sell-off.

coinbase coinbase Coinbase is one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges known for making digital asset trading secure, easy, and accessible for everyone. Founded by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam in 2012, the company allows users to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies. Coinbase supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies and provides advanced features like secure trading, crypto holding management, and native blockchain transactions. Key Features of Coinbase: Users can purchase, exchange, and manage cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. Advanced trading tools for professional traders. A self-custody crypto wallet known as the Coinbase wallet, now available as the Base app. Users can earn rewards on staked cryptocurrencies. Prime brokerage, including costs, trading, and custody for institutions. APIs and on-chain solutions for developers. Coinbase Milestones: Year Achievements 2012 Founded by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam in San Francisco and participated in the Y Combinator accelerator program. 2013 Funded by a $5 million Series A investment led by Union Square Ventures. 2014 Registered 1 million user wallets, demonstrating rapid adoption. 2015 Announced Coinbase Exchange (subsequently renamed GDAX and then Coinbase Pro) and became a regulated cryptocurrency platform in the United States. 2016 Moved away from being strictly a Bitcoin exchange by introducing Ethereum, which marked the start of the multi-cryptocurrency evolution 2017 Offered support for Litecoin and introduced Coinbase Custody, serving institutional customers. 2019 Announced Coinbase Prime as a product designed specifically for institutional clients, along with the acquisition of Xapo's institutional custody service. 2021 IPO with a direct listing at Nasdaq, achieving a market capitalization of over $85 billion. 2022 Rebranded Coinbase Pro to Coinbase Advanced Trade and acquired FairX, entering the crypto derivatives market. 2023 Launched Base, an Ethereum L2 network, and increased its global regulatory footprint. 2024 Gained necessary international regulatory licenses, such as a Major Payment Institution license in Singapore and MiCA compliance via Luxembourg. 2025 The SEC dismissed its lawsuits against Coinbase, the company completed the acquisition of Deribit, expanded its derivatives business, and strengthened institutional custody and European operations. support@coinbase.com WalletCentralised Exchange

Arkham Intelligence Arkham Intelligence Arkham Intelligence is a blockchain analytics platform that provides users with advanced tools to discover insights about blockchain transactions and entities. Company Details Founder: Miguel Morel Founded: 2020 Headquarters: New York, United States Key Features: Provides graphs and charts for visualizing and tracking blockchain transactions. The Arkham Intel Exchange enables users to buy and sell intelligence related to blockchain addresses. Supports multiple blockchains that allow users to investigate activities across different networks. Users can track massive transactions and keep an eye on whale moments across different blockchains. Crypto intelligence

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