White House adviser says DOJ did not sell Bitcoin seized in Samourai case

A White House crypto adviser said he received confirmation from the US Department of Justice that no Bitcoin forfeited from the Samourai Wallet case was sold. The confirmation was shared on X by Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets.

Witt posted, “We have received confirmation from DOJ that the digital assets forfeited by Samourai Wallet have not been liquidated and will not be liquidated,” and added that the forfeited Bitcoin would remain part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Selling the Bitcoin would have violated Executive Order 14233, which mandates that any Bitcoin obtained through criminal or civil forfeiture “shall not be sold.” The issue first surfaced in November when blockchain analysts flagged a 57.5 Bitcoin transfer from a US government-controlled address to a Coinbase Prime deposit address.

The Marshals Service was accused of violating Executive Order 14233 after that transfer was noticed. Data from Bitcoin Treasuries shows the US government holds 328,372 Bitcoin, worth over $31.3 billion at current market prices, a total that includes 127,271 Bitcoin forfeited in October from a Cambodia-based company accused of running an alleged “pig butchering” crypto investment scheme.

Key Topics

Crypto, Samourai Wallet, Patrick Witt, Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Coinbase Prime