On-chain data shows that an Ethereum wallet labeled 'US Government: FBI' transferred more than $200,000 worth of Ethereum (ETH) to Coinbase Prime early this morning, sparking many speculations within the cryptocurrency community.
According to blockchain tracking platform Arkham Intelligence, around midnight today, a wallet address controlled by the FBI transferred a test transaction of approximately $10 worth of Ethereum to Coinbase Prime (Coinbase's institutional user platform), and then immediately transferred 86.564 Ethereum (approximately $219,000) to that platform.
ARKHAM ALERT: THE US GOVERNMENT JUST DEPOSITED $200K ETH TO COINBASE
A US Government wallet just moved $200K to a Coinbase Prime Deposit, after a $10 test transaction.
This ETH was originally seized from Chase Senecal in October 2022. pic.twitter.com/CFdfN73zyD
— Arkham (@arkham) July 7, 2025
The wallet has been dormant since October 2022, and the assets stored within were seized by US authorities from NFT scammer Chase Senecal.
As of now, the relevant US government wallet still holds approximately 60,000 Ethereum, worth about $150 million at the current price of $2,500 per coin.
This transaction has not impacted the price of Ethereum, but the cryptocurrency community generally believes that this type of 'first small test transfer, then large transfer' operation mode is very likely to pave the way for large-scale capital movement, whether for sale, changing custodians, or conducting internal accounting adjustments, there are precedents to follow.
It is worth noting that the Biden administration has sold large amounts of Bitcoin multiple times last year, and each time the asset inflows into Coinbase could be observed.
However, since Trump returned to the White House, the US government has only recorded one instance of transferring cryptocurrency to an exchange, which was a small amount and occurred less than a week after his inauguration.
The situation is vastly different now, as the White House is not only actively promoting the establishment of a 'Bitcoin Strategic Reserve', but also plans to set up a 'U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile', primarily to store government-seized competing coins, which sharply contrasts with the Biden administration's tendency to liquidate.
"The US government transferred over $200,000 ETH to Coinbase; does this sow new variables in the market?" This article was first published on (Blockcast).
