Official Clarification on Seized Digital Assets
Claims that Bitcoin (BTC) seized by the US government was being sold have been officially denied.
Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the White House Digital Assets Advisory Committee, stated, based on official confirmation from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), that the digital assets seized in the Samurai Wallet case have neither been liquidated nor will they be sold in the future.
Witt stated that the assets in question were handled in accordance with Executive Order 14233, signed by President Donald Trump, and will continue to be held on the US government’s balance sheet as part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). “According to confirmation we received from the DOJ, the digital assets confiscated from Samourai Wallet have not been sold and will not be sold. These assets will remain on the US government’s balance sheet as part of the SBR, in accordance with EO 14233,” he said.
Background of the Allegations
As you may recall, on January 5th, some cryptocurrency media outlets claimed that approximately 57.55 BTC, confiscated from Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill by the US Department of Justice through the US Marshals Service (USMS), had been sold. These reports alleged that such a sale could violate President Trump’s Executive Order 14233.
However, the latest statement has made it clear that these claims are untrue. Executive Order 14233 mandates that seized Bitcoin be held in the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve instead of being sold by federal agencies.