US government relocates $8M in Bitcoin after Trump establishes strategic reserve

Key Takeaways

• President Trump established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve to maintain Bitcoin as a long-term asset for the US.
• US authorities relocated $8 million worth of Bitcoin seized from a fraud scheme to comply with the new executive order.

A crypto wallet linked to US authorities transferred over $8 million worth of Bitcoin today, following President Donald Trump’s executive order establishing a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence.

The transferred Bitcoin came from assets seized from a Binance account belonging to Wanpadet Sae-Heng of Thailand, including 97 Bitcoin and other digital assets such as Dogecoin, Ethereum, and Cardano. The seizure was connected to an alleged “pig butchering” investment fraud scheme.

The transaction divided the assets between two wallet addresses, sending $10 in Bitcoin to one address with the remainder going to another.

It is not yet clear what the purpose of the move is. The latest Bitcoin transfer by the US government was made last December, when around $1,9 billion was deposited into Coinbase Prime.

The US government currently holds 198,012 BTC, valued at approximately $17 billion at current market prices.

According to Bo Hines, Trump’s top crypto advisor, the government previously possessed around 400,000 Bitcoin, but sold nearly half prematurely for less than $1 billion – assets that would now be worth over $17 billion.

David Sacks, Trump’s AI and crypto czar, also stated in a recent statement that the US government could have gained an additional $17 billion if it had retained the approximately 195,000 Bitcoin it seized and sold over the past decade.

The US Marshals Service, tasked with asset management, is scrutinized for potential mismanagement as the government formed a national Bitcoin reserve.

Under Trump’s March 6 order, seized Bitcoin will be added to the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and maintained as a long-term asset, separate from the national digital asset stockpile. The Treasury Secretary has the authority to determine management strategies for the US Digital Asset Stockpile, including potential sales.

The executive order mandates a comprehensive review of all federal digital asset holdings within 30 days.

It also authorizes the Treasury Secretary and Commerce Secretary to develop budget-neutral strategies for acquiring additional Bitcoin for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, aiming to expand holdings without additional taxpayer costs or new budget allocations.