The U.S. government has moved a small amount of Bitcoin seized from Alameda Research accounts on Binance.US about three years ago, with the transaction involving roughly 0.0048 BTC worth about $377.
Summary
- The U.S. government moved about 0.0048 BTC seized from Alameda accounts on Binance.US roughly three years ago, according to Arkham.
- Arkham raised the possibility of further Alameda Bitcoin movements but did not identify the latest transaction as a sale or liquidation.
- Government wallets have moved larger amounts of seized FTX and Alameda assets this year, including funds previously sent to Coinbase Prime.
- No federal agency has confirmed whether the transferred Bitcoin is tied to creditor repayments, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve or another forfeiture process.
Arkham Intelligence reported the transfer in an Aug. 27 post on X, saying the Bitcoin had been seized from Alameda accounts held on Binance.US three years earlier. The blockchain analytics firm did not describe the transaction as a sale or provide evidence that the government had begun liquidating the remaining Bitcoin tied to Alameda.
“The US Government just moved a small amount of Bitcoin that had been seized from Alameda accounts on Binance US, 3 years ago,” Arkham wrote.
Alongside the transfer, Arkham asked whether the government would begin liquidating the rest of Alameda’s Bitcoin. The firm framed the potential liquidation as a question, while no U.S. agency has announced plans to sell the remaining assets.
Arkham’s accompanying dashboard showed the transaction leaving a wallet labeled as belonging to the U.S. government. The monitoring platform also showed government-linked addresses holding about 324,552 BTC at the time, with the Bitcoin valued at roughly $25.5 billion.
U.S. government Bitcoin transfer follows earlier Alameda movements
The small Bitcoin transaction comes after federal wallets moved a much larger group of seized assets connected to Alameda and collapsed crypto exchange FTX earlier this year.
In June, crypto.news previously reported that the government moved seized Alameda funds worth nearly $984,000, with blockchain data from Arkham showing most of the assets being transferred to Coinbase Prime.
Around $768,000 of the funds reached Coinbase Prime, while the transactions involved assets recovered from wallets associated with FTX and Alameda. The transfers included cryptocurrencies seized following the collapse of FTX and the subsequent federal cases involving the companies.
Arkham said at the time that the seized assets were intended for the FTX estate as part of the process of returning recovered funds to creditors. The government-controlled wallets involved in those transactions held several digital assets, not only Bitcoin.
The Aug. 27 transaction was far smaller. Arkham’s interface showed approximately 0.0048 BTC leaving the government-linked address, putting its value below $400 when the transaction was recorded.
No destination identified in Arkham’s X post was described as an exchange deposit for liquidation, and the analytics firm did not state that the transfer represented the beginning of a government sale.
Seized Bitcoin faces different rules under the U.S. reserve
The status of government-controlled Bitcoin has received more attention since President Donald Trump established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve through an executive order in March 2025.
Under the federal framework, Bitcoin that has been finally forfeited to the government can be transferred into the reserve and held as a government asset. Bitcoin deposited into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is subject to a no-sale policy under the executive order.
A June examination of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve found that the federal government held an estimated 328,372 BTC at the time, although the figure included assets spread across government agencies and subject to different legal statuses.
The distinction between seized and finally forfeited assets remains part of the government’s reserve accounting. Seized cryptocurrency can still be subject to court proceedings, victim restitution or other claims, while finally forfeited Bitcoin can become government property available for transfer into the reserve.
White House digital asset adviser Patrick Witt said in May that officials had made progress on the legal and custody structure required to manage government Bitcoin. He described the work as a “breakthrough” in getting the reserve legally structured and ensuring that the assets could be properly safeguarded.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also told senators in June that the administration remained committed to the reserve while officials worked through rules for an asset class that presented new legal and operational questions.
Federal agencies are still working through Bitcoin custody
Questions over which federal department has authority to manage government Bitcoin persisted after the reserve was established.
By July, administration officials were still examining control of seized Bitcoin, including whether the Treasury Department had sufficient legal authority to hold and manage the assets as part of a federal reserve.
Trump’s March 2025 executive order named Treasury as the department responsible for establishing and administering the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Commerce later emerged in discussions over how the reserve could be managed, while custody, audits and congressional authority remained under consideration.
The reserve framework has also distinguished between holding Bitcoin already owned by the government and acquiring additional coins. The executive order established a policy for Bitcoin obtained through criminal and civil forfeitures and called for strategies that could allow additional acquisitions without imposing incremental costs on taxpayers.
A separate U.S. Bitcoin reserve blueprint reported in June described two legislative routes under discussion in Congress. Sen. Cynthia Lummis backed the BITCOIN Act, while Rep. Nick Begich supported the American Reserve Modernization Act as lawmakers considered rules governing government Bitcoin holdings and possible future acquisitions.
The American Reserve Modernization Act included a 20-year holding requirement for Bitcoin placed in the reserve and directed officials to study budget-neutral methods for potential additional acquisitions. The legislative work remained separate from Bitcoin that could still be subject to forfeiture proceedings or creditor claims.
Alameda assets remain tied to FTX recovery proceedings
Alameda Research was the trading firm closely connected to FTX before the exchange collapsed and entered bankruptcy in November 2022. Federal prosecutors later accused FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of using Alameda to divert billions of dollars belonging to exchange customers.
A New York jury convicted Bankman-Fried in November 2023 on seven fraud and conspiracy counts stemming from the collapse. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced him to 25 years in prison in March 2024.
In June 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld Bankman-Fried’s conviction and sentence, rejecting arguments that restrictions imposed during his trial had prevented him from presenting a complete defense.
The appeals court also rejected his challenge to prosecutors’ case over the movement of FTX customer funds into Alameda. Bankman-Fried has remained in federal custody following the ruling.
Separate bankruptcy proceedings have continued to determine how recovered FTX and Alameda assets are distributed to creditors. Government transfers involving seized Alameda assets have previously been connected to that recovery process, including the nearly $984,000 moved in June.
Arkham did not say the roughly 0.0048 BTC transferred on Aug. 27 was part of a creditor distribution, a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve transaction or a planned liquidation. Its post identified the Bitcoin as having been seized from Alameda’s Binance.US accounts and asked whether additional government-controlled Alameda Bitcoin could be moved next.
