A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed in March has shed new light on the scale of Bitcoin holdings under the control of the US Marshals Service (USMS). According to the documents obtained by independent journalist L0la L33tz, the agency currently holds exactly 28,988.35643016 BTC, placing its value at approximately $1.6 billion based on the valuation provided in the disclosure. However, the USMS figures appear to be based on a BTC price of $56,000 per coin, while the market is currently trading near $119,000—more than double that estimate.
Only 28,988 Bitcoin Left?
L33tz, who published the findings on X, emphasized that the disclosure came directly from the USMS in response to a formal FOIA request. “In March, we filed a FOIA request for the amount of bitcoin held by the US Marshal Service. Today, we publish the USMS answer to our FOIA request, as well as the list of bitcoin it holds, totaling 28,988.35643016 BTC,” she wrote. The request was dated March 24, and the response was received on July 16.
The revelation quickly triggered debate across the community. Prominent industry figures reacted with a mix of surprise and criticism, noting that the holdings are far lower than many had assumed. Senator Cynthia Lummis, a longtime advocate in Congress, expressed alarm: “I’m alarmed by reports that the US has sold off over 80% of its Bitcoin reserves—leaving just ~29,000 coins. If true, this is a total strategic blunder and sets the United States back years in the bitcoin race.”
David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine, who had previously offered $10,000 to any journalist who could confirm the government’s BTC holdings, praised the scoop and confirmed the payment to L33tz after verifying the documents. “It looks like we might know how many Bitcoin the US government is holding now and it’s about 85% less than thought. Explains why the price action was stuck for so long. Bullish,” Bailey commented on X. He later added, “If Biden sold all our Bitcoin on his way out the door, Trump is going to buy them back 2x over lmao. Mega bullish.”
L33tz used the opportunity to clarify a key distinction often misunderstood in public discourse: the difference between seized assets and forfeited assets. She explained, “The USMS is mainly in charge of forfeited assets, meaning assets that have been made property of the Government. The list I received from the USMS is a list of all BTC held by the USMS, as requested by DB. The USMS can be in charge of seized assets, but these can also be held with seizing agencies, like the DEA or the FBI—meaning that there may be other custody offices than the USMS.”
This nuance is critical because many market observers had relied on on-chain analytics platforms such as Arkham or databases like Bitcoin Treasuries to estimate US government holdings. However, L33tz noted these sources likely overstate actual government-owned Bitcoin because they track seized assets, not those formally forfeited and available for liquidation. “To the geniuses that have linked Arkham’s gov wallet tracker: these do not seem to be BTC that have been made the Gov’s property—at least not exclusively—which means they can’t sell them. For example, Arkham lists 94k BTC from the Bitfinex hack, but forfeiture in the Bitfinex case hasn’t been decided, at least last time I checked,” she wrote.
The FOIA disclosure also sheds light on the operational process. The USMS has historically managed forfeited digital assets and liquidated them via public auctions, a practice dating back to the early days of BTC when the agency sold coins from the Silk Road seizures. L33tz stated, “US Marshal Service liquidates assets in public auctions, so unless they announced a sale, this list should be accurate.” This suggests the current holdings represent coins awaiting auction rather than active strategic reserves.
The findings have also reignited speculation about possible covert sales by the Biden administration during the transition period. Executive Director of the Bitcoin Policy Institute Matthew Pines remarked via X, “Great work by Lola, which if true, confirms my suspicion that the Biden admin was covertly selling OTC during the transition. Note: my understanding is the total BTC in USG possession is significantly larger than this number but its origin & present disposition is classified.”
Others, like Galaxy Digital’s Alex Thorn, cautioned against assuming the FOIA response captures the entire picture of federal BTC holdings. “This is great journalistic work from L0la, but I want to note that the US Marshals Asset Forfeiture Division is very likely not the only agency that possesses bitcoin on behalf of the US government, whether for asset forfeiture generally or in light of the SBR,” Thorn noted, referring to ongoing discussions about a potential Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Beyond the numbers, the implications for the broader market narrative are significant. The assumption that the US government held almost 200,000 BTC has long shaped perceptions of a massive starting stash for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve under the Trump administration. If, as the FOIA response suggests, the government’s liquid Bitcoin stockpile is a fraction of those estimates, the perceived overhang may be far less material than traders believed. Vijay Boyapati captured this sentiment succinctly: “Incredible. The US government holds less Bitcoin than an individual who just dumped 40,000 BTC in the last few days. The idea of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is laughable when individuals own more Bitcoin than the US government.”
At press time, BTC traded at $118,279.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
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