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 hacker group, which has been tied to ransomware attacks, the Texas US Attorneyโs 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 โunlawful activityโ 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.
Doubt raised about US governmentโs Bitcoin holdings
Itโs 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 doesnโt take into account seizing agencies, like the DEA or the FBI, โmeaning that there may be other custody offices than the USMS.โ
Blockchain analytics firm Arkham made similar claims on July 23, pointing out that โother departments of the US Government also seize and hold Bitcoin, including the FBI, DOJ, DEA, and US Attorneyโs Offices.โ
Arkham said US government hasnโt sold Bitcoin
Arkham maintains that its data shows the US government holds at least 198,000 Bitcoin across multiple addresses held by different government arms, and none have moved the tokens for four months.
L0la L33tz, however, argued that some of the Bitcoin trackers โdonโt seem to differentiate between seized and forfeited coins,โ because in some cases, the status of the assets as either seized or forfeited is still up in the air.
โTo the geniuses that have linked Arkham โs gov wallet tracker: these do not seem to be BTC that have been made the Govโs property – at least not exclusively – which means they canโt sell them,โ L0la L33tz said.
Related: Coinbase claims โkey roleโ in Secret Serviceโs 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.ย
Dozens have failed and been voted down by lawmakers before making it past the first committee phase.ย
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