US Marshals Liquidate Seized Bitcoin from Samourai Wallet Founders in Latest Crypto Crackdown

Another day, another government auction—this time Uncle Sam's playing crypto broker.

The Forced Sell-Off

Federal authorities just dumped a chunk of Bitcoin confiscated from the creators of privacy-focused Samourai Wallet straight onto the open market. No tender offers, no OTC desks—just the Marshals Service executing what looks like a market sell order. The move sends a clear signal: seized digital assets are now just another line item on the government's balance sheet, ready to be liquidated for fiat when the vault gets too full.

Privacy Tools in the Crosshairs

Samourai's alleged crime? Building financial tools that let users transact outside the panopticon. The DOJ called it a money laundering engine; proponents call it basic financial privacy. Either way, the code is now evidence, and the Bitcoin that flowed through it is funding the very system it was designed to bypass. A tidy bit of poetic injustice—or just efficient asset recycling, depending on which side of the badge you're on.

The New Custodians

Forget 'not your keys, not your coins.' The updated maxim? 'Not your keys, not your coins—and if we get your keys, they become our coins to sell.' The Marshals Service has turned asset forfeiture into a revenue stream, converting crypto seizures into quarterly budget line items. It's the ultimate HODL strategy, just not for the original holders.

Market barely flinched—proving once again that regulatory theater moves prices less than whatever Elon just tweeted. The real story isn't the sale; it's the normalization of state-sponsored selling. When the biggest whale in the room works for the Treasury, every bull run comes with a built-in government exit strategy. Talk about having the ultimate insider trading desk.

Controversial Bitcoin Sale 

According to documents titled “Asset Liquidation Agreement,” which bitcoin Magazine has obtained, the BTC forfeited by Rodriguez and Hill is either in the process of being sold or has already been sold. 

The document indicates an agreement where the defendants consented to relinquish Bitcoin valued at approximately $6.3 million, which amounted to little over 57 BTC at the time the agreement was finalized on November 3, 2025.

Interestingly, it appears that the Bitcoin transferred on November 3, 2025, did not enter the USMS’s custody directly. Instead, the cryptocurrency seems to have been sent straight to Coinbase Prime, likely for the purpose of sale.

Potential Implications For Crypto Regulation

This decision raises significant legal and ethical questions, particularly regarding compliance with Executive Order 14233. This Order stipulates that BTC acquired through criminal forfeiture—termed “Government BTC”—must not be sold and should instead be allocated to the established Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. 

If the USMS has indeed sold the forfeited Bitcoin, it indicates that they proceeded at their own discretion, potentially ignoring the legal mandate outlined in the Executive Order.

The Executive Order also specifies that “Government BTC” falls under the category of “Government Digital Assets,” and it mandates that agency heads cannot sell or otherwise dispose of these assets except under certain conditions, none of which apply to the cases of Rodriguez or Hill. 

With this controversy surrounding the sale of seized Bitcoin, the actions of the USMS could spark further debate about how the government manages seized digital assets. 

BTC has risen closer to $94,300 at the time of writing, representing a significant 3% increase in the last 24 hours and 8% increase in the last seven days. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com