The entire bitcoin held by the U.S. authorities has come beneath scrutiny after allegations surfaced that tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in seized crypto have been stolen by way of insider entry at a federal custody contractor.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT alleged over the weekend that greater than $40 million in digital property was siphoned from wallets linked to the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), reportedly by the son of an govt at a agency contracted to handle seized crypto.
The alleged theft facilities on Command Companies & Help (CMDSS), a Virginia-based expertise agency awarded a USMS contract in October 2024 to handle and eliminate sure classes of seized digital property.
These property embrace crypto not supported by main exchanges and tied to high-profile prison instances, together with funds seized from the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
Based on ZachXBT, a person recognized on-line as “Lick,” whom he claims is John Daghita, gained entry to government-controlled wallets by way of insider channels. ZachXBT has additional alleged that Daghita is the son of Dean Daghita, CMDSS’s president and chief govt.
The investigation started after a recorded dispute in a personal Telegram chat surfaced on-line. In the course of the alternate, the person screen-shared a pockets displaying hundreds of 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 property.
A battle of curiosity involving U.S. bitcoin
One transaction path cited by ZachXBT factors to a authorities deal with that acquired roughly $24.9 million in bitcoin tied to Bitfinex-related seizures earlier in 2024.
Further blockchain information 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 way of prompt exchanges was not recovered.
ZachXBT estimates that complete suspected thefts may 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 may 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 operating. 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 way of regulation enforcement actions, with some blockchain analytics estimating roughly 198,000 BTC beneath federal management with others projecting greater than 300,000 BTC, value tens of billions of {dollars}.
If insiders can allegedly transfer hundreds of thousands from custodial wallets with minimal detection, it suggests present custody practices could depart parts of the federal government’s Bitcoin reserves uncovered.
Earlier experiences have discovered that the Marshals Service relied on guide monitoring programs and struggled to offer exact estimates of its crypto holdings. CMDSS’s contract award additionally confronted 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 printed an investigation exploring the truth that prosecutors within the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Marshals Service could have offered 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 somewhat than liquidated.
There was on-chain proof displaying 57.55 BTC tied to the Samourai plea settlement shifting by way of a Coinbase Prime deal with and later displaying a zero stability, elevating questions on whether or not the property have been improperly disposed of.
Shortly afterward, U.S. officers denied that any sale happened, affirming that the Samourai Pockets bitcoin will stay on the federal government’s stability sheet as a part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve beneath the manager order.
U.S. officers failed to point out blockchain proof however the experiences and total sentiment relay controversy over how the U.S. handles seized bitcoin. The allegations from ZachXBT additional push this sentiment.
