The US government just moved $288 million worth of Bitcoin and Ether to Coinbase Prime, the exchange’s institutional custody and trading arm. The deposits include crypto confiscated from three separate criminal cases: assets tied to Brian Krewson, the defunct BTC-e exchange, and Ryan Farace.
Where the crypto came from
BTC-e was a cryptocurrency exchange seized by US authorities back in 2017 on money laundering charges. The platform was one of the earliest major exchanges to face a full government takedown, and forfeited assets from that case have been trickling through the legal system ever since.
Ryan Farace, along with his brother Joseph Farace, was involved in a drug trafficking operation that led to the forfeiture of over 4,000 BTC between 2018 and 2021. Ryan and Joseph were sentenced for their roles in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
The government also made a smaller, related transfer of 2.44 BTC to Coinbase Prime addresses, suggesting this isn’t a one-off dump but part of a broader, methodical approach to managing its growing crypto inventory.
