- The U.S. government emptied a seized FTX wallet, distributing about $540K in crypto across eight new addresses.
- The transfers came a day after the government moved $288.3M in Bitcoin and Ether to Coinbase Prime.
- Past government crypto transfers to Coinbase Prime have not always resulted in asset sales.
The U.S. government has moved another batch of seized cryptocurrency, emptying a wallet linked to the collapsed FTX exchange and Alameda Research just one day after transferring nearly $288.33 million worth of Bitcoin and Ether to Coinbase Prime.
According to on-chain monitoring platform Onchain Lens, a government-controlled wallet holding seized FTX and Alameda assets was emptied on July 15, with its holdings distributed across eight new addresses.
The transfers included 209.18 ETH, 0.533 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), 1,230 Compound (COMP), 5.37 yearn.finance (YFI), 4,110 Axie Infinity (AXS), 4,050 Numeraire (NMR), 138,950 iExec RLC (RLC), and 311,600 Decentraland (MANA).
Following the transfers, the wallet’s balance dropped to zero. The assets were valued at roughly $540,000 based on prevailing market prices.
The latest movements come amid heightened scrutiny of U.S. government-controlled crypto wallets after a series of large transfers over the past two days.
Seized FTX and Bitfinex Assets Continue to Move
The FTX-related transfers followed another round of government wallet activity reported on July 14 involving assets seized in the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
According to blockchain intelligence platform Arkham, a government wallet transferred approximately 5,939 ETH and 296,709 USDT, worth around $11.45 million, to Coinbase Prime. Another 901,005 USDC was sent to a separate wallet.
While the Bitfinex-related assets were sent directly to Coinbase Prime, the FTX and Alameda holdings were instead dispersed across multiple newly created addresses, with no indication they were transferred to an exchange.
$288 Million Coinbase Prime Deposit Sparks Speculation
Also on July 13, Arkham reported that the U.S. government deposited a total of $288.33 million worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime in two transactions. The transfers consisted of an initial $8.8 million deposit, followed roughly three hours later by a second transfer worth about $288.33 million.
According to Arkham, the assets originated from separate criminal forfeiture cases involving Brian Krewson, the now-defunct BTC-e exchange, and convicted dark web drug dealer Ryan Farace.
The sizeable transfers prompted renewed speculation that the government could be preparing to sell part of its seized crypto holdings.
Transfers Have Not Always Led to Sales
Market participants often assume that when the U.S. government moves crypto to Coinbase Prime, it’s preparing to sell. But that hasn’t always been the case.
Earlier this year, the government transferred seized Chainlink and other crypto linked to FTX and Alameda to Coinbase Prime, but there was no confirmed sale. Similar transfers in January also sparked speculation that never turned into actual selling.
Related: US Government Transfers $297M in Bitcoin, Ether to Coinbase Prime
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