The United States government has once again moved a portion of crypto assets tied to Sam Bankman-Fried’s former empire. On August 26, 2026, analytics firm Arkham Intelligence detected the movement of a small amount of Bitcoin seized from Alameda Research’s Binance.US account.
Arkham did not disclose the exact number of coins transferred or the destination wallet address for the assets, which were seized more than three years ago. Although the volume remains unidentified, the movement prompted a key question from Arkham: are authorities preparing to liquidate the remaining Bitcoin linked to Alameda entities? So far, there has been no official announcement from the Department of Justice, the Treasury Department, or other federal agencies regarding the reason behind the transfer.
Pattern of Transfers to Coinbase Prime
Transfers of seized assets tied to the FTX and Alameda network have been carried out in consecutive rounds over recent months. In May 2026, the government moved $1.89 million worth of tokens - comprising Render, Uniswap, The Sandbox, Mask Network, and Axie Infinity - to Coinbase Prime. This initial tranche was drawn from a total Alameda asset pool valued at $13 million.
Transfers to the exchange continued a month later. Throughout June 2026, government wallets shifted nearly $984,000 in crypto assets associated with FTX and Alameda, with at least $768,000 flowing into institutional platform Coinbase Prime. The peak of the transfers occurred in July 2026, when official wallets sent nearly $297 million worth of Bitcoin and Ether to the same destination - a transaction comprising 3,940 BTC and 30,014 ETH.
Clash with Strategic Reserve Rules
The handling of the remaining Alameda coins has become a critical issue following policy changes at the federal level. In March 2024, a judge sentenced Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison and ordered the forfeiture of seized assets totaling over $11 billion. The execution plans for these assets now directly intersect with an Executive Order signed by President Trump in March 2025.
The Executive Order formally established the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and instituted a strict prohibition: all Bitcoin subject to finalized forfeiture cannot be sold on the open market. As of mid-2026, the United States government is estimated to hold a stockpile of approximately 198,000 BTC.
To date, the specific legal status of the coins seized from the Binance.US account has not been publicly announced. The market lacks certainty on whether these ex-Alameda assets are already accounted for in the national reserve, still held for FTX creditor recovery proceedings, or subject to an exemption from the sales ban. Without confirmation from Washington, any movement of Bitcoin from government wallets will continue to draw close attention. Reported by crypto.news.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
