The United States has filed a civil lawsuit seeking the forfeiture of $2.4 million in Bitcoin seized by the Dallas FBI to support the proposed U.S. strategic Bitcoin reserve.
On Thursday (July 24), a civil lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Texas seeks to forfeit 20.2 Bitcoin (BTC) that were seized from an address allegedly linked to members of the Chaos hacking group, which is associated with ransomware attacks, according to a statement from the Texas U.S. Attorney's Office on Monday (July 28).
According to the lawsuit, the Dallas FBI executed the cryptocurrency seizure on April 15 of this year, claiming it was the proceeds of "illegal activities" related to ransomware attacks.
If the seizure is successful, this Bitcoin could be added to the U.S. Bitcoin reserve, which President Donald Trump requested to be created through tokens obtained via criminal or civil asset forfeiture in his executive order on March 6.
According to estimates from Nansen, Arkham, and BitcoinTreasuries.NET, the U.S. government holds 198,012 Bitcoin, which have been obtained through various seizures over the years; however, a recent Freedom of Information request from an independent journalist has called this into question.
A journalist posting under the name L0la L33tz on X stated on July 16 that they received a response from the Department of Justice regarding a Freedom of Information request made in March, showing that the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) holds just over 28,988 Bitcoin.
However, in a subsequent post, L0la L33tz stated that the shared figure did not account for seizure agencies like the DEA or FBI, "which means there may be other custodial offices beyond just the USMS."
Blockchain analysis firm Arkham made a similar claim on July 23, noting that "other departments of the U.S. government also seize and hold Bitcoin, including the FBI, the Department of Justice, the DEA, and the U.S. Attorney's Office."
Arkham maintains that its data shows the U.S. government holds at least 198,000 Bitcoin across multiple addresses in different government departments, and that these tokens have not been moved for four months.
However, L0la L33tz argued that some Bitcoin trackers "seem to not distinguish between seized and forfeited coins," as in some cases, the status of the assets as seized or forfeited remains unresolved.
"For those geniuses linking Arkham's government wallet tracker: these do not seem to be BTC that have become government property—at least not exclusively—which means they cannot sell them," L0la L33tz said.
According to Bitcoin Laws, at least 30 U.S. states have also introduced legislation for a Bitcoin strategic reserve, it is claimed. However, as of July 29, only Arizona, Texas, and New Hampshire have passed relevant laws.
Dozens of proposals have been rejected by lawmakers before entering the first committee stage.
Related: Update: CoinDCX denies it is in talks with Coinbase regarding acquisition
Original article: “U.S. Plans to Forfeit Ransom Gang-Related Bitcoin (BTC) Worth $2.4 Million”
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