US Government Transfers $8.8M in Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime

The US government has transferred $8.8 million in Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime, sparking speculation about a potential massive sell-off in the cryptocurrency market.

The transfer was made on Monday night and was detected by data intelligence firm Arkham. The funds were deposited into an institutional address linked to the US government, which had previously received assets seized from the founders of the Samourai Wallet platform.

The move has raised questions about whether this is a sign that the US government is planning to liquidate its Bitcoin holdings, despite a presidential decree signed by Donald Trump in March 2025 prohibiting such action. The decree established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, which currently holds an estimated 328,372 BTC under the control of various federal agencies.

The transfer to Coinbase Prime does not necessarily mean that the US government is planning to sell its Bitcoin holdings immediately. However, industry reports suggest that federal agencies are still in the process of defining the operational framework for the Strategic Reserve, which has yet to be approved by Congress.