U.S. authorities are inspecting allegations that greater than $40 million in seized cryptocurrency was stolen from wallets linked to the U.S. crypto reserve. This follows statements from Trump’s crypto adviser Patrick Witt and U.S. Marshals officers.
Officials Launch Investigation Into Theft From U.S. Crypto Reserve
The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) confirmed that it’s inspecting claims of entry to government-owned cryptocurrency wallets. Patrick Witt, head of digital asset technique for the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors, responded in an X post to the allegations by stating, “On it. More to follow.” The remark indicated consciousness of the claims however didn’t present additional element.
Witt was responding to a declare by on-chain investigator ZachXBT {that a} menace actor, John ‘Lick’ Daghita, had stolen over $40 million from the U.S. authorities seizure addresses. This is important as these seized crypto belongings type a part of the U.S. crypto reserve following President Donald Trump’s govt orders, which he signed final yr.
ZachXBT said that John stole these crypto belongings by way of his dad, who owns Command Services & Support (CMDSS), which he claimed presently has an lively IT authorities contract in Virginia. The on-chain investigator additionally talked about that CMDSS obtained a contract to help the U.S. Marshals in managing the seized crypto belongings, though it’s unclear how John obtained entry to those funds from his dad.
This growth notably comes simply weeks after allegations that the Department of Justice had liquidated seized Bitcoin holdings from the Samourai Wallet, which was meant to type a part of the U.S. crypto reserve. However, Witt confirmed that this wasn’t true after investigating the allegation.
How the Theft Came To Light
ZachXBT had first drawn consideration to the theft from the U.S. crypto reserve after John revealed his pockets addresses in a Telegram group following a heated argument with one other menace actor. He traced the supply of John’s funds to a crypto pockets that had obtained stolen funds from the U.S. seizure addresses in 2024.
The on-chain investigator additionally famous that the menace actor’s wallets have ties to over $90 million in suspected thefts from the U.S. authorities and different unidentified victims. Meanwhile, ZachXBT already reported the case to the authorities even earlier than Witt confirmed that the White House was investigating the theft.
It continues to be unclear what crypto belongings John stole from the U.S. crypto reserve, and if it consists of Bitcoin, which types a part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. It is value noting that the U.S. has but to offer an replace on how a lot BTC it holds since Trump signed the manager order.
However, in keeping with BiTBo, the U.S. authorities presently holds 198,012 BTC, rating because the nation with the biggest crypto holding. China is second with 194,000 BTC.
