How much Bitcoin does the U.S. own, and what are its origins?

The U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve will be initially funded using Bitcoin that has been seized or forfeited to the Treasury, which currently holds approximately 198,109 BTC from various criminal cases.

The U.S. government currently possesses approximately 198,109 Bitcoin, valued at $17.7 billion, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. This stash was primarily accumulated through seizures and forfeitures in criminal cases.

A portion of these holdings will be allocated to the newly established “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” created under President Donald Trump’s March 6 executive order. The order states that the reserve will include Bitcoin obtained through criminal or civil asset forfeitures or as payment for civil penalties.

Additionally, federal agencies have been directed to assess and report the total amount of forfeited Bitcoin under their control so it can be officially added to the reserve. While the industry awaits these audits, Cointelegraph has compiled a timeline of major events that contributed to making the U.S. the world's largest nation-state holder of Bitcoin.

November 2020: Silk Road Seizure (69,370 BTC)
On Nov. 3, 2020, U.S. authorities carried out their largest crypto seizure at the time, confiscating 69,370 Bitcoin—then worth $960 million—from an unidentified hacker known as "Individual X." This individual had exploited the now-defunct Silk Road marketplace but later surrendered the funds after investigators traced the stolen Bitcoin to addresses linked to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht.

By Dec. 30, 2024, a district court judge denied an attempt to block the forfeiture of these Bitcoin, allowing the Department of Justice to proceed with selling the holdings, which had grown in value to $6.5 billion.

January 2022: Bitfinex Hack (94,636 BTC)
On Jan. 31, 2022, U.S. law enforcement seized 94,636 Bitcoin from hacker Ilya Lichtenstein after accessing his cloud storage account. Investigators discovered a file containing approximately 2,000 crypto wallet addresses and their corresponding private keys, leading to the recovery of 80% of the 119,754 Bitcoin stolen from the Bitfinex exchange.

Source: Scott Melker

Bitfinex Hack: 25,111 BTC Laundered
Before U.S. officials executed a search warrant, Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, successfully laundered 25,111 Bitcoin. In late 2024, Lichtenstein was sentenced to five years in prison, while Morgan received an 18-month sentence.

Despite the seizure, Galaxy's head of research, Alex Thorn, pointed out that the stolen Bitfinex Bitcoin had not been formally forfeited, meaning they could potentially be returned to the exchange.

March 2022: Second Silk Road Seizure (51,351 BTC)
Authorities confiscated 51,351 Bitcoin from Silk Road hacker James “Jimmy” Zhong in March 2022. Zhong, who may have also been “Individual X,” surrendered the funds about four months after investigators discovered Bitcoin storage devices hidden in an underground safe and a popcorn tin in his bathroom closet.

At the time, the seized Bitcoin was worth approximately $3.38 billion, making it one of the largest financial asset seizures in U.S. history.

U.S. Sells Some Bitcoin
On March 14, 2023, the U.S. sold 9,861 Bitcoin—entirely from Zhong’s holdings—for $215.7 million. Although the government initially planned to sell the remaining Bitcoin in four batches throughout 2023, those transactions never took place.

In January 2024, the Department of Justice received approval to liquidate the full 198,109 Bitcoin seized from Silk Road. However, the Biden administration did not act before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

Although the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve will begin solely with forfeited Bitcoin, the White House stated that the Commerce and Treasury Secretaries would investigate ways to acquire additional Bitcoin without burdening U.S. taxpayers.

With the creation of this reserve, none of the Bitcoin within it will be sold—a decision that White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks criticized the previous administration for not implementing.

Source: David Sacks