FOIA Response Reveals US Marshals Control Just 29,000 BTC — Where’s the Rest?

Key Points

1. The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) controls 28,988 BTC, worth approximately $3.44 billion as of July 2025, according to a FOIA response obtained by journalist @L0laL33tz.

2. The reported figure is significantly lower than the widely believed 200,000 BTC held by the U.S. government, suggesting other agencies or custodians may hold the remaining bitcoin.

3. Federal agencies like the FBI, IRS, and DOJ transfer seized bitcoin to the USMS, but third-party custodians such as Coinbase and Anchorage Digital also manage some of the government's cryptocurrency holdings.

4. The USMS reportedly tracks its bitcoin holdings manually in an Excel spreadsheet, raising concerns about transparency and accuracy.

5. The discrepancy in reported holdings has led to skepticism and calls for a blockchain-verified audit to confirm the government's total bitcoin stash.