The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has selected globally recognised crypto exchange, Coinbase, as a partner in a $32.5 million deal.
The deal is with the DoJ’s US Marshals Service (USMS) and will see the exchange handling and providing custody of its digital assets.
According to the exchange, the USMS conducted a competitive due diligence process that evaluated a range of solutions, ultimately choosing Coinbase “due to its strong track record and ability to securely provide institutional-grade crypto services at scale.”
The Exchange’s Longstanding History With Law Enforcement: Key Reason Behind Deal
Coinbase is going to be responsible for handling funds on behalf of the USMS. The funds mainly make of seized assets, including the forfeiture of crypto assets.
“Coinbase has a longstanding history of supporting law enforcement agencies, dating back to the founding of our law enforcement program in 2014,” the exchange said in the statement, marking its long history with law enforcement agencies around the world as a key factor in this partnership being secured.
Every day I sat on the federal bench, the @USMarshalsHQ kept me and my courtroom safe. Marc H. and his team were models of public service in the San Jose courthouse. That's why I'm so proud that USMS has selected @coinbase Prime. If we are reliable enough for USMS, we ought to… https://t.co/ZE6d9AZBEO
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) July 1, 2024
Coinbase Prime Steps Up
The secure storing and handling of the USMS digital assets will be done via Coinbase Prime.
Prime is the exchange’s institutional crypto platform, for selling and trading high-value digital assets on behalf of organizations globally.
Talking about Coinbase Prime, the exchange said, “Since launching nearly three years ago, Prime has become the platform-of-choice for institutions and large holders of digital assets, including being the primary partner for a vast majority of the spot crypto ETFs.”
As of 31 March 2024, Coinbase safeguards $330 billion of assets. Furthermore, Coinbase recorded $256bn in institutional trading volume in Q1 2024.
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US Government Holds Biggest Crypto Bags Of Any Nation
Movement of the US government crypto holdings are watched closely by market analysts. The US government currently holds over $13.8 billion in cryptocurrency, according to a report by Arkham Intelligence.
Analysts at Arkham have identified the address containing 3940 $BTC ($251 million), which the USA confiscated in January. Now, the US government holds a balance of 216,788 BTC ($13.71 billion) and 45,659 ETH ($139 million), with a significant portion obtained through… pic.twitter.com/njPSBmZ1te
— epickot (@epickot) May 7, 2024
Recently, the US government transferred over 3,940 Bitcoin worth $241 million to Coinbase. The 9-figure haul was seized from drug kingpin Banmeet Singh during a trial back in January 2024.
Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
