Rumors that the US government will sell $6 million to Samurai Bitcoin have no real proof
On January 5, several crypto publications reported that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) through the US Marshals Service (USMS) had sold approximately 57.55 BTC to Samurai wallet co-founders Keon Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill.
Mainstream has argued that such a sale would violate President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14233.
However, according to publicly available information on the chain, when bitcoins are transferred to Coinbase Prime's holdings, the blockchain does not verify that the bitcoins have been sold.
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Understanding the information on the chain
In the year On November 3, 2025, approximately 57.553 BTC was transferred to a wallet named Coinbase Prime Deposit (3Lz5U) from a bech32 address linked to the disappearance of Samurai.
Soon after, the funds were cleared from the 3Lz5U address to another wallet, Coinbase Prime Deposit (1AaFQ).
Such swipes are a standard operating feature of Coinbase Prime and do not appear in sales on their own.
Further on-chain analysis shows that Bitcoin is consolidated into the vast Coinbase Prime cluster, which includes thousands of addresses used for custodial, settlement and internal accounting purposes.
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Any time the blockchain leaves the Coinbase-controlled infrastructure, it shows Bitcoin.
No evidence from DOJ of on-chain Bitcoin sales.
The block does not provide evidence that bitcoins have been lost. There is no sign on the chain.
It is transferred to Coinbase as a non-legal entity, split into multiple outputs typical of trade execution, flowed into a known exchange wallet, or distributed in a pattern consistent with a completed sale.
A zero balance on the original Coinbase Prime deposit address does not indicate liquidation. The address only indicates calling, which is standard practice for parenting forums.
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Bitcoin-to-USD conversion on Coinbase Prime is off-chain.
As a result, the blockchain cannot demonstrate that a sale has occurred, that the proceeds have been credited to USMS, or that bitcoins have been held in custody.
Did DOJ Violate Trump's Executive Order on Bitcoin Reserves?
Executive Order 14233 restricts the sale of “government BTC” held in the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Whether or not the missing bitcoins were regularly transferred to treasury accounts designated as reserves is not determined by blockchain data alone, says Zamora.
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Proving the violation of the order requires the following
Court-issued asset forfeiture or seizure order, USMS asset management records, or Coinbase Prime execution and settlement document.
None of these records appear on the chain.
The stolen Samurai Wallet was then transferred into Coinbase Prime's possession and consolidated into Coinbase's controlled infrastructure.
In general, the blockchain does not confirm that Bitcoin has been sold.
This does not prevent the possibility of liquid leakage. This means that without chain documentation or court approval records, the claim of a confirmed sale is more than the information on the chain can support.
For now, the question of whether the DOJ has complied with Executive Order 14233 is still a matter of documentation and administration.
