US government moves 264 Bitcoin worth $23M to Coinbase in Bitfinex restitution

The US government just shifted a chunk of its Bitcoin stash, and no, it doesn’t appear to be dumping it on the market.

Roughly 264.8 Bitcoin, worth about $23 million, moved to Coinbase from a government wallet tied to the 2016 Bitfinex hack. The coins look less like a sale and more like a long-delayed homecoming.

What moved, and where

The transfer took place on October 6, 2026. The more precise figure was approximately 264.863 BTC, valued at around $22.87 million when it moved.

This wasn’t the government’s first shipment from this particular pile. In April 2026, smaller transactions sent about 8.2 BTC, worth approximately $606,000, to a Coinbase Prime deposit address.

Coinbase Prime is the exchange’s institutional arm, offering custody and trading for large clients.

The transfers to Coinbase Prime have been characterized as custody-related steps, not sales.

Movement of seized Bitcoin often reflects administrative work under the US Marshals Service rather than liquidation.

A court said give it back, not sell it

The reason these coins are moving at all traces back to a 2025 federal court ruling. That ruling required the seized Bitcoin to be returned to Bitfinex in-kind as restitution, rather than converted to cash.

The hack itself remains one of the largest thefts in crypto history. Roughly 119,754 BTC were stolen from Bitfinex in 2016.

Federal authorities clawed back about 94,636 BTC in 2022. That recovery came after the arrest of Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, who had been laundering the stolen funds.

Lichtenstein was sentenced to five years in prison. Morgan received 18 months for her role.

What Bitfinex plans to do with the coins

Bitfinex has a plan for the returned Bitcoin, and it involves two groups: the victims and LEO holders.

First, the exchange reportedly intends to use the recovered assets to redeem Recovery Right Tokens. Those tokens were issued to users who lost funds in the 2016 breach.

Second, Bitfinex plans to allocate at least 80% of any remaining net proceeds toward repurchasing and burning its UNUS SED LEO token.

The government’s bigger Bitcoin picture

This transfer is a small slice of a much larger holding. As of mid-2026, the US government held over 328,000 BTC.

The roughly 264.863 BTC moved in October represents well under 1% of that total.

In this case, the coins are headed back to their original owner under a court order, not into the order books.

What this means

For traders, the key takeaway is that this flow is not supply hitting the market from the government.

For LEO holders, the planned buyback and burn is the most direct implication. Committing at least 80% of remaining net proceeds is a sizable pledge.

For the 2016 victims, holders of Recovery Right Tokens have waited years for these redemptions, and the in-kind return gives Bitfinex the assets to follow through.

There’s also a broader precedent at play. The 2025 ruling favoring in-kind restitution could shape how future crypto seizures are handled, especially for victims who would rather get their coins back than a check.