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A US government-linked wallet holding Bitcoin seized from the 2016 Bitfinex hack sent 12,267 BTC, worth about $1.01 billion, to a new, unlabeled address at 9:33 a.m. ET on Thursday, according to Decrypt, which cited Arkham data.
Nearly all of the coins landed at the new address, while 0.0012 BTC went to a second wallet. Arkham marks both outputs as already spent, meaning the coins have moved again since the initial transfer. The coins did not go to an exchange, and wallet-to-wallet moves are not by themselves evidence of a sale. Cryptobriefing noted that because the destination addresses carry no public label, nobody outside the government can say for certain who controls them.
Also read: US government moves 9,261 BTC worth $770M to Coinbase Prime
Key facts
- A wallet labeled “Seized Bitfinex Hack Funds” sent 12,267 BTC, worth about $1.01 billion, to new unlabeled addresses on Oct. 8, 2026, per Arkham.
- The transfer followed Wednesday flows of roughly 2,574 BTC, worth about $215 million, and about $119 million in USDT to Coinbase Prime.
- The coins stem from roughly 94,000 BTC seized in 2022 from Ilya Lichtenstein, who orchestrated the 2016 hack, and Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan.
- President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order directs forfeited Bitcoin into a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve that would not be sold.
- The government still holds about 306,795 BTC, worth roughly $24.85 billion, according to Arkham.
What moved, and where
Decrypt reported the transaction as a single 12,267 BTC transfer worth about $1.01 billion. Cryptobriefing put the amount at 12,267.02 BTC, also valued at roughly $1.01 billion, and noted the source wallet carries Arkham’s “Seized Bitfinex Hack Funds” label, a recognized US government address. Both outlets agree none of the coins reached an exchange.
The Cryptobriefing report is the one that states the coins went to addresses with no public label yet, and that a day earlier, wallets tied to both Bitfinex and FTX sent approximately 3,200 BTC, valued around $264 million, plus $119 million in USDT to Coinbase Prime deposit addresses. Decrypt’s figure for the Wednesday Bitcoin movement was roughly 2,574 BTC, worth about $215 million, routed through intermediary addresses — a lower number than Cryptobriefing’s combined total. Coinbase Prime is the institutional arm of Coinbase and offers custody alongside trading, so deposits there do not confirm a sale.
Also read: Europol Flags Crypto Wallet Keys as Quantum Computing Risk
Scale and precedent of the seizure
The 2016 Bitfinex hack remains one of the largest thefts in crypto history. A total of 119,754 BTC was taken from the exchange, according to Cryptobriefing. The government now controls an estimated 94,000+ BTC linked to that breach.
Cointelegraph framed the activity differently, reporting that the US government moved 9,261 BTC worth $770 million to Coinbase Prime over two days. Cointelegraph said half was recovered from the Bitfinex hackers, while another portion stemmed from known Binance seizures, attributing that breakdown to a Thursday X post by Galaxy Research. Cointelegraph added that an additional 2,456 BTC came from previously unknown holdings and may represent new law enforcement seizures. Coinbase Prime has served as the US Marshals Service custody provider for seized assets since 2024, Cointelegraph reported.
Earlier transfers from the same seizure have drawn similar attention. In April, the government moved about 8.2 BTC to Coinbase Prime. In July, it shifted $288 million in seized crypto to the same venue, per Decrypt; Cointelegraph put that July figure at $297 million in Bitcoin and Ether. Before the March 2025 order took effect, a federal court in January 2025 cleared the way for the sale of $6.5 billion in Bitcoin seized from Silk Road.
Why it matters
The destination of each transfer determines whether the market reads the move as custody management or the early stages of a liquidation. If the newly funded addresses stay dormant, the Oct. 8 transaction fits the reserve framework set by the March 2025 executive order, under which forfeited Bitcoin is held long term instead of auctioned. If the coins start flowing toward exchange deposit addresses, holders will have to reassess how much supply could reach the market. The stablecoin transfers sit outside a Bitcoin-specific reserve entirely, since the order governs forfeited Bitcoin, and the public data does not show which category each transfer falls into. Any suggestion of a sale would conflict with the executive order, which specified that seized Bitcoin should not be sold.
What to watch
The immediate signal is whether the new addresses move again and where the coins go. Cointelegraph said it had contacted the US Marshals Service and the Department of Justice for comment on the transfers, so any response would clarify whether the movements reflect new seizures or custody changes. Cointelegraph also noted that with an estimated 94,000+ BTC tied to the hack under government control, more transfers appear plausible as custody arrangements evolve. Bitcoin was trading near $81,000 at the time of the transfers.
Reported by decrypt.co.
Sources: Decrypt, Cryptobriefing, Cointelegraph