The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday confirmed that Bitcoin (BTC) forfeited in the high-profile Samourai Wallet case has not been sold or liquidated and will instead remain on the federal government’s balance sheet as part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) established under Executive Order 14233, officials said Friday.
Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, said in a social media post that the Department of Justice reaffirmed the digital assets “have not been liquidated and will not be liquidated, per EO 14233” and will be held within the government’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The clarification comes amid earlier speculation and blockchain observations that roughly $6.3 million worth of Bitcoin tied to the Samourai Wallet forfeiture had been moved, leading some analysts and community members to question whether the assets had been prematurely sold.
Public filings and investigative reporting suggested the movement occurred through a Coinbase Prime custody address, raising concerns about compliance with the executive order.
Executive Order 14233, signed in March 2025 by President Donald Trump, directs federal agencies to retain Bitcoin obtained through criminal or civil forfeiture and place it into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve rather than selling it on the open market.
The approach represents a significant departure from historical practice, in which digital assets seized by law enforcement were routinely liquidated.
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Samourai Wallet And Legal Controversy
Samourai Wallet was a privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet designed to enhance transaction privacy using features such as coin-mixing protocols.
It was widely used by individuals seeking greater confidentiality for on-chain transactions, and was developed by co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill.
Both Rodriguez and Hill were arrested in 2024 and later pleaded guilty in July 2025 to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business tied to the wallet’s mixing services, which prosecutors said facilitated the movement of illicit funds.
The case was prosecuted in the Southern District of New York, and both founders were subsequently sentenced to multi-year prison terms.
As part of their plea agreement, the developers agreed to forfeit their Bitcoin holdings, leading to the roughly 57-BTC ($6.3 million) seizure at the center of the recent debate over federal handling of forfeited digital assets.
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