White House: Government Has Not Sold Bitcoin Seized From Samourai Wallet Developers

On Jan. 17, the White House’s top cryptocurrency advisor clarified that U.S. prosecutors have not liquidated seized digital assets linked to Samourai Wallet developers — pushing back against earlier reports that the Bitcoin may have been sold in violation of a Trump administration executive order. Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President’s Financial Advisors Committee, tweeted Friday that he’d received confirmation from the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the prosecution of Samourai founders William Lonergan Hill and Keonne Rodriguez. “Update: We’ve confirmed with DOJ that, per E.O. 14233, seized Samourai Wallet digital assets have not been and will not be liquidated,” Witt wrote. “They will be held as part of the government’s strategic Bitcoin reserve.” Earlier this month, Bitcoin Magazine cited court filings and data to report that the U.S. Marshals Service had sold over $6 million worth of Bitcoin tied to the case. The assets were part of funds Hill and Rodriguez agreed to forfeit to the DOJ, and were sent to a Coinbase Prime address — a move that suggested potential sale. Such a sale would have violated Trump’s March executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve.