The DOJ has not sold any bitcoins that were deleted from the Samurai case.
Selling bitcoin violates President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14233, which states that any bitcoin obtained through criminal or civil prosecution “shall not be sold.”
The White House crypto adviser has revealed that he has received confirmation from the US Department of Justice that no bitcoins were sold for funds stolen from the Samurai case, putting the rumors to rest.
The confirmation was shared on X by Patrick Witt, executive director of the White House President's Council of Advisors on Digital Assets:
“We have received confirmation from the DOJ that the digital assets seized by Samurai Wallet have not and will not be released,” Witt said in a statement to X Friday, adding that the deleted bitcoins will remain part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The issue came to light in November when blockchain analysts reported a transfer of 57.5 Bitcoin (BTC) from a US government controlled BTC address to a Coinbase Prime deposit address.
The Marshals Service has been accused of violating Executive Order 14233, signed by President Donald Trump in March.
The US now has over 328K BTC.
According to data from Bitcoin Treasuries, the US government holds 328,372 bitcoins worth more than $31.3 billion at the current market value.
That includes the 127,271 bitcoins seized in October by a Cambodian company allegedly involved in a “pig farming” crypto investment scheme.
Bitcoin Reserve is still a “priority” for the Trump administration.
In an interview on Crypto in America published on Tuesday, Witt said that building the SBR is still on the “priority list” and will move forward once the Treasury and trade agencies agree on how to handle some of the legal requirements.
Related: Michael Saylor Pushes Back on Criticism of Bitcoin Treasury Companies
A Bitcoin reserve account backed by U.S. Senator Cynthia Lammis wants to speed up the process, aiming to collect 1 million bitcoins within five years.
The US government has stated that its strategy will be to accumulate bitcoins in a budget-neutral manner at no cost to taxpayers.
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