US seeks to claim $2.4M in Bitcoin seized from ransomware group

The United States has filed a civil complaint seeking the forfeiture of $2.4 million in Bitcoin seized by the Dallas FBI, bolstering the proposed US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

The civil complaint filed in the Northern District of Texas on Thursday calls for the forfeiture of 20.2 Bitcoin (BTC) seized from an address allegedly associated with a member of the Chaos ransomware group, which has been tied to ransomware attacks, the Texas US Attorney’s Office said in a statement on Monday.

Dallas FBI executed the crypto seizure on April 15 this year, according to the complaint, alleging it was the proceeds of “unlawful activity” related to ransomware attacks.

If the seizure is successful, the Bitcoin could add to the US Bitcoin reserve, which US President Donald Trump mandated in his March 6 executive order would be created through tokens seized through criminal or civil asset forfeiture.

Source: Texas US Attorney’s Office

Doubt raised about US government’s Bitcoin holdings

It’s estimated that the US government holds 198,012 BTC of Bitcoin by Nansen, Arkham and BitcoinTreasuries.NET, seized through various seizures over the years; however, a freedom of information request from an independent journalist recently called that into question.

The journalist who posts on X under the handle L0la L33tz said on July 16 that they had received a response from the Department of Justice regarding a freedom of information request made in March, which revealed the United States Marshals Service (USMS) only held slightly more than 28,988 Bitcoin.

However, in a subsequent post, L0la L33tz said the figure shared doesn’t take into account seizing agencies, like the DEA or the FBI, “meaning that there may be other custody offices than the USMS.”

Source: L0la L33tz

Blockchain analytics firm Arkham made similar claims on July 23, pointing out that “other departments of the US Government also seize and hold Bitcoin, including the FBI, DOJ, DEA, and US Attorney’s Offices.”

Arkham said US government hasn’t sold Bitcoin

Arkham maintains that its data shows the US government holds at least 198,000 across multiple addresses held by different government arms, and none have moved for four months.

Source: Arkham

L0la L33tz, however, argued that some of the trackers “don’t seem to differentiate between seized and forfeited coins,” in some cases, the status of the assets as either seized or forfeited is still up in the air.

“To the geniuses that have linked Arkham ‘s gov wallet tracker: these do not seem to be BTC that have been made the Govs property – at least not exclusively – which means they can’t sell them,” L0la L33tz said.

Related: Coinbase claims ‘key role’ in Secret Service’s biggest-ever crypto seizure

US States are following suit

At least 30 US states have also introduced Bitcoin strategic reserve legislation, according to Bitcoin Laws. However, only Arizona, Texas and New Hampshire have passed related laws as of July 29.

Dozens have failed and been voted down by lawmakers before making it past the first committee phase.

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