On October 14, 2025, the Justice Department reported that it had seized 127,271 Bitcoins from a Cambodia-based fraud operation. Shortly after, some crypto influencers claimed that the US now owns 325,000 or 327,000 BTC. Are these claims substantiated and how can we accurately assess Bitcoin holdings in the US?
The US government seized 127,271 Bitcoins from Chen Zhi, the head of the Prince Group, an international criminal organization based in Cambodia. According to the DOJ, this is the largest forfeiture lawsuit in the department’s history.
Understanding the Claims
As soon as the news of the seized Bitcoins broke, several social media accounts with tens and hundreds of thousands of followers declared that the US now owns 327,000 BTC. Some gave a different estimate – 325,000 BTC. One of the X-posts claiming that the US government now owns 327,000 Bitcoins was shared by Exodus Wallet CEO JP Richardson.
In the articles and publications in the media, the authors mainly talked about the amount that the US “holds”, which is important because there is a difference between holding and owning funds. Various publications reported that the US had “seized” Bitcoins from Chen Zhi. However, the Justice Department press release uses a different term. The press release does not mention the “seizure” of Bitcoins. Instead, “forfeiture” is mentioned seven times.
Forfeiture vs Seizure
These terms are not identical because forfeiture requires that a criminal’s ownership of the forfeited assets be withdrawn in favor of the government. According to the FBI guide, “Seizure removes the profit motive of the crime and returns property obtained by the criminal under fraudulent pretenses to the victims.” The press release includes the statement from Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
It says: “Today’s action represents one of the most significant steps ever taken against the global scourge of human trafficking and cyber-financial fraud. By dismantling a criminal empire built on forced labor and deception, we are sending a clear message that the United States will use every tool at its disposal to defend victims, recover stolen assets, and bring to justice those who harm the vulnerable exploit for profit.”
Return of Forfeited Bitcoins
This means that the Justice Department may recommend the return of these Bitcoins to the victims of the crimes committed by Price Group. This is nothing unthinkable. In 2024, the DOJ recommended that around 94,643 BTC forfeited by the Bitfinex hackers be returned to the exchange. Given that the US has still not returned Bitcoins to Bitfinex, there is still no precedent.
With the establishment of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve through Donald Trump’s Executive Order on March 6, 2025, the uncertainty only increases. Trump’s order bans the sale of BTC held by the US government. However, it is unclear how it is possible to use Bitcoins, which are close to yield, as a strategic asset. The fact sheet accompanying Trump’s executive order mentions US “ownership” of digital assets.
US Bitcoin Holdings
Transparency is one of the crucial elements of the Bitcoin network. However, it cannot compensate for the ambiguity of the law. Many of the estimates of US BTC holdings circulating online come from data from Arkham Intelligence. At press time (October 16, 2025), US Bitcoin holdings stand at 325,447 Bitcoins, according to Arkham’s estimate based on on-chain data.
The 327,000 BTC valuation does not appear to be correct. Those who claim that the US has 327,000 Bitcoins are probably adding 127,000 BTC to 200,000 BTC. The latter was the approximate amount of US Bitcoin raised by crypto and AI czar David Sacks after establishing the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. It is not clear whether the US has ever conducted a thorough audit of its Bitcoin holdings.
Trump’s executive order stipulated that such an audit must take place; However, there is no publicly available information on this topic. All we have is on-chain data. According to on-chain data, the US holds 325,000 BTC. Over 94,000 BTC of this amount is expected to be returned to Bitfinex. The future of the remaining Bitcoins is not yet clear, except for the approximately 29,000 BTC held by the US Marshals Service.
These Bitcoins are unlikely to leave the government’s custody. For more information on the US government’s Bitcoin holdings, visit https://crypto.news/the-u-s-government-now-holds-327000-bitcoin/
