A White House official stated on Friday that the Bitcoin seized by Federal law enforcement from the creators of the crypto mixing service Samourai Wallet has not been liquidated and will be added to President Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
The confirmation was shared on X by the executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, Patrick Witt:
“We have received confirmation from DOJ that the digital assets forfeited by Samourai Wallet have not been liquidated and will not be liquidated,” Witt wrote in his post, adding that the forfeited Bitcoin would remain part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Rumors of liquidation surfaced last month after lawyers and family members of the now-incarcerated co-founders suggested that rogue Department of Justice attorneys in New York were planning to sell the funds. Such a move would have violated Executive Order 14233, signed by U.S. President Donald Trump in March 2025, which mandates that any Bitcoin holdings the government receives via criminal or civil forfeiture “shall not be sold” and must be held in the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
Samourai developers Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill pleaded guilty last July to one count each of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business for their roles in creating Samourai, a privacy tool prosecutors said was used to launder over $200 million in dirty money.
In November, Rodriguez was sentenced to five years in prison, while Hill received a lesser sentence of four years due to his recent autism diagnosis, as well as his advanced age. The pair began their sentences earlier this month.
Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Is Still A Priority: White House
Patrick Witt said in a recent interview that setting up the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve remains on the government’s “priority list” and that the government plans to move quickly on it once the U.S. Treasury and Commerce agencies mutually decide on how to address certain legal requirements.
Pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis sponsored a Bitcoin reserve bill that seeks to accelerate the process by accumulating 1 million Bitcoin over five years. The US government, meanwhile, has indicated its intent to accumulate Bitcoin through budget-neutral means, without spending new taxpayer money.
While seeded with confiscated assets, the SBR validates the premier crypto’s position in modern reserve strategy, one increasingly reflected in how institutions value and incorporate the asset into global finance.
According to Arkham Intelligence data, the US government currently holds 328,372 Bitcoin, worth over $31.7 billion at today’s prices.
Source: https://zycrypto.com/seized-bitcoin-from-samourai-wallet-case-not-sold-and-will-remain-in-strategic-reserve-white-house-confirms/
