The recent federal profile released by the FBI has revealed that the agency has seized various types of cryptocurrencies, totaling around $2 million, from multiple sources, including wallets associated with the Binance exchange, over the past three months. Specifically:
- $147,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC)
- $800,000 worth of Ethereum (ETH)
- $307,000 worth of Tether (USDT)
- $469,000 worth of Dai (DAI)
- $20,000 worth of Monero (XMR).
In Virginia’s Eastern District, authorities have confiscated 428.5 Ethereum from four wallets, with a total value of nearly $800,000. This is the largest amount of cryptocurrency seized to date and occurred over the months of April and May, inadvertently causing minor fluctuations in Ethereum’s price.
Regarding Bitcoin, the total number of seized tokens is smaller, about five times less than Ethereum. Since the beginning of 2023, the FBI has seized around 5.12 BTC with a total value of approximately $136,893.01. Notably, during the period from March to May, the FBI also confiscated around $310,277 worth of USDT.
Earlier in May, the FBI confiscated almost $400,000 worth of cryptocurrencies from Binance accounts. They seized a substantial amount of Bitcoin and Tether valued at around $397,221 from six Binance accounts between May 2 and May 23.
Apart from Binance, the agency also seized various cryptocurrency assets from accounts on multiple exchanges in May. Around $30,000 was seized from accounts on Bybit, and $16,000 was confiscated from Freewallet users.
The reason behind the FBI’s asset seizures is due to violations of federal law. Since the collapse of Terra and FTX, legal authorities have been exerting stricter control and surveillance over the cryptocurrency market. In 2023, the FBI has taken numerous enforcement actions in this domain, including the shutdown of nine exchanges.