The entire bitcoin held by the U.S. authorities has come underneath scrutiny after allegations surfaced that tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in seized crypto have been stolen by insider entry at a federal custody contractor.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT alleged over the weekend that greater than $40 million in digital belongings was siphoned from wallets linked to the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), reportedly by the son of an government at a agency contracted to handle seized crypto.
The alleged theft facilities on Command Providers & Assist (CMDSS), a Virginia-based expertise agency awarded a USMS contract in October 2024 to handle and eliminate sure classes of seized digital belongings.
These belongings embody crypto not supported by main exchanges and tied to high-profile prison instances, together with funds seized from the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
In line with ZachXBT, a person recognized on-line as “Lick,” whom he claims is John Daghita, gained entry to government-controlled wallets by insider channels. ZachXBT has additional alleged that Daghita is the son of Dean Daghita, CMDSS’s president and chief government.
The investigation started after a recorded dispute in a non-public Telegram chat surfaced on-line. Through the trade, the person screen-shared a pockets displaying thousands and thousands of {dollars} in crypto and appeared to maneuver funds in actual time.
On-chain evaluation later linked these wallets to addresses identified to carry government-seized belongings.
A battle of curiosity involving U.S. bitcoin
One transaction path cited by ZachXBT factors to a authorities handle that acquired roughly $24.9 million in bitcoin tied to Bitfinex-related seizures earlier in 2024.
Extra blockchain knowledge means that round $20 million was faraway from USMS-linked wallets in October 2024. Most of these funds have been returned inside a day, although about $700,000 routed by prompt exchanges was not recovered.
ZachXBT estimates that whole suspected thefts might exceed $90 million when accounting for different pockets exercise noticed in late 2025. Among the funds stay in compromised wallets, elevating issues that additional losses might happen.
Neither the U.S. Marshals Service nor CMDSS has issued a public assertion addressing the allegations.
Rightfully so, the investigation has renewed criticism on how the U.S. authorities manages its rising stockpile of seized crypto — particularly its bitcoin.
David Bailey, CEO of bitcoin-focused agency Nakamoto, posted on X after the report, “The son of the CEO of the corporate employed by the US Marshalls to safeguard the nation’s Bitcoin, stole $40m from it and now seems to be working. Treasury should safe the personal keys from the Justice Division ASAP earlier than extra is stolen.”
The U.S. authorities holds an enormous quantity of Bitcoin seized by regulation enforcement actions, with some blockchain analytics estimating roughly 198,000 BTC underneath federal management with others projecting greater than 300,000 BTC, value tens of billions of {dollars}.
If insiders can allegedly transfer thousands and thousands from custodial wallets with minimal detection, it suggests present custody practices could go away parts of the federal government’s Bitcoin reserves uncovered.
Earlier studies have discovered that the Marshals Service relied on handbook monitoring programs and struggled to offer exact estimates of its crypto holdings. CMDSS’s contract award additionally faced a protest in 2024 from a competing agency, which raised issues about licensing and potential conflicts of curiosity.
Did the US promote bitcoin destined for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve?
Earlier this yr, journalist Frank Corva published an investigation exploring the truth that prosecutors within the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Marshals Service could have bought bitcoin forfeited within the Samourai Pockets case, doubtlessly in violation of President Trump’s Government Order 14233, which dictates seized bitcoin be held within the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve relatively than liquidated.
There was on-chain proof displaying 57.55 BTC tied to the Samourai plea settlement transferring by a Coinbase Prime handle and later displaying a zero stability, elevating questions on whether or not the belongings have been improperly disposed of.
Shortly afterward, U.S. officers denied that any sale befell, affirming that the Samourai Pockets bitcoin will stay on the federal government’s stability sheet as a part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve underneath the manager order.
U.S. officers failed to indicate blockchain proof however the studies and total sentiment relay controversy over how the U.S. handles seized bitcoin. The allegations from ZachXBT additional push this sentiment.
