- A civil suit filed to seize Bitcoin controlled by the ransomware operators and hand it over to the government.
- Bitcoins captured do not focus on direct sale but on the reinforcement of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
- The government-owned bitcoins are distributed among various agencies, which creates confusion among the public.
- A legal lawsuit has been filed by the United States government against the 2.4 million dollars worth of Bitcoin that was taken by the Dallas FBI in connection with the notorious Chaos ransomware operation. It is one of an increasing number of seizures of Bitcoin, this one consisting of 20.2 Bitcoin, in a bid to crack down on cybercrime and support a new government initiative, the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The action, which was filed in the Northern District of Texas, is aimed at assets that can be traced to a cryptocurrency address that was connected to the Chaos group member known as Hors. The Bitcoin was seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on April 15, 2025, with the FBI stating that it was the proceeds of criminal activity in Texas and beyond, including ransomware attacks, extortion, and money laundering. Provided this Bitcoin is confiscated, it will be deposited into the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a national holding that will maintain the Bitcoin in the form of a long-term store of value and not sell it.
Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: Shaping a New Government Crypto Approach
There has been a greater shift in the way the United States handles the management of seized cryptocurrency, which is tied to this seizure. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve was created through executive order and will collect confiscated Bitcoin through various law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, DEA, and the US Marshals Service. The reserve is now planning to reserve approximately 200,000 units of BTC received as a result of different criminal and civil forfeitures. This method is opposite to the former one, when the seized coins were auctioned.
Source – X
An independent journalist on X made it clear that, though it is believed that the US government has close to 198,000 BTC, the US Marshals Service had officially 28,988 BTC, and other agencies, such as the FBI, have possession of other seized assets. This distinction implies that not all Bitcoin taken during a seizure is ready to be sold or managed by the same authority since some of the seized Bitcoin is not forfeited.
The seizure of the funds of the Chaos group by the Dallas FBI highlights an escalating pressure on ransomware gangs that are turning more to cryptocurrencies to launder funds. This takes the seizure alongside other substantial ones, such as more than $225 million in USDT on investment scams and millions of dollars on hacks and malware schemes.
Controversies Over US Bitcoin Holdings and Sales
Source – X
The reality of what the US government possesses has become a matter of discussion. In July 2025, Senator Cynthia Lummis voiced her concern regarding the news that the US might have sold over 80 percent of its Bitcoin reserves and was left with only approximately 29,000 BTC. These estimations were in stark contrast to the estimates available to the general population that pegged government-controlled Bitcoin at nearly 200,000 BTC. Yet, other analysts and third-party researchers noted that the numbers tend to mix seizures of Bitcoin with forfeitures of Bitcoin; this is important to know the assets the government can liquidate.
As blockchain analytics companies and reporters have pointed out, government agencies in the US possess varying quantities of Bitcoin, and the FBI, DOJ, and DEA all have access to wallets tied to seizures. The government has not transferred these holdings in months, indicating it is not actively selling large chunks of its cryptocurrency assets, despite public speculation.
