US Government Moves Bitcoin Seized From Alameda Accounts 3 Years Ago

Alameda Bitcoin Transfer Sparks Questions

The U.S. government has transferred a small amount of Bitcoin (BTC) seized from Alameda Research's Binance.US accounts three years ago, renewing attention on how federal agencies will handle the remaining forfeited assets. Blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence flagged the transaction in an Aug. 26 post on X, saying the Bitcoin came from Alameda accounts on Binance.US that U.S. authorities seized roughly three years earlier. Arkham did not disclose the amount, identify the receiving address, or say that officials had sold the coin, leaving the transaction's purpose unconfirmed. The firm asked whether the government would begin liquidating the remaining Alameda-linked Bitcoin, though no federal agency had announced such a move. Moving Bitcoin between wallets can represent custody, accounting, or security management rather than a sale, while a deposit to an exchange can make a future sale possible without proving one occurred. Federal agencies have regularly used Coinbase Prime to store and manage seized digital assets, and its institutional platform offers both custody and trading services. In July, government-linked wallets transferred nearly $297 million in seized Bitcoin and Ether to Coinbase Prime; the batch included about 3,940 BTC and 30,014 ETH tied to separate enforcement cases, including Bitcoin connected to Ryan Farace and the closed BTC-e exchange. Earlier Alameda-linked transfers had already moved nearly $2.9 million in seized crypto through government-controlled wallets this year. No public blockchain record can show whether an exchange deposit was followed by an executed trade unless additional evidence reveals a conversion or movement of sale proceeds. The same limitation applies to the latest Alameda-linked transaction. Federal holdings are commonly estimated at roughly 198,000 BTC as of mid-2026, though public trackers differ on the addresses and legal categories they include. Under the March 2025 executive order that created the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Bitcoin placed in the reserve generally cannot be sold and must remain a reserve asset, though agencies may return assets to victims, comply with court orders, support law enforcement operations, and meet forfeiture-law requirements. No federal agency has said whether the Bitcoin moved on Aug. 26 had entered the reserve, remained assigned to the FTX recovery process, or fell under one of those exceptions.

The latest transfer sits inside a much larger forfeiture effort stemming from the collapse of FTX. Arkham said in 2024 that three Alameda Research accounts on Binance and Binance.US holding more than $300 million had been seized by the U.S. government as part of a forfeiture action involving more than $700 million of FTX- and Alameda-related assets; the seized holdings included more than $102 million in Bitcoin and wrapped Bitcoin at the time. A federal jury convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in November 2023 on seven counts, including wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, and he was later sentenced to 25 years in prison with a forfeiture order for more than $11 billion. A Department of Justice inspector general report disclosed that the U.S. Marshals Service received a $627.9 million interbank settlement in October 2025 as a partial payment toward that order, with payments subsequently made to victims. Federal wallets have continued to process seized Alameda assets in 2026. In May, roughly $1.9 million of seized altcoins, including Render, Uniswap, The Sandbox, Mask Network and Axie Infinity, moved to Coinbase Prime. In June, nearly $984,000 of FTX- and Alameda-linked cryptocurrency was transferred, with at least $768,000 going to Coinbase Prime; Arkham said those assets would go to the FTX estate to help repay creditors. These transfers show authorities actively managing a portfolio that remains tied to creditor repayments.

COINOTAG's 42-indicator composite S/R scoring engine rates the $80,275 resistance at 74/100, driven by the confluence of Fibonacci 0.000, the Donchian upper band and the ATR upper band. The strongest support, $77,169, scores 82/100 on inputs including ATR lower, Flip R→S, Fibonacci 0.214 and S2. RSI at 80.25 is overbought, though MACD and the broader trend remain bullish, so momentum can persist near all-time highs. Funding sits at 0.0012%, open interest at $15.09 billion, and the long/short ratio at 1.15 (53.4% long), signalling mildly bullish positioning; the Fear & Greed Index at 65 (Greed) agrees. A push through $80,275 keeps the bullish case intact, while losing $77,169 would invalidate it and open a bear-market extension toward $75,041.