A recent Bitcoin (BTC) liquidation by the U.S. Marshals Service is drawing scrutiny after court records indicated the sale may have conflicted with a standing executive order signed by President Donald Trump governing how forfeited digital assets should be handled.
What Happened
According to court filings tied to the Samourai Wallet case, the U.S. Marshals Service, acting at the direction of the U.S. Department of Justice, sold approximately 57.55 Bitcoin on Nov. 3, 2025, through Coinbase Prime.
The Bitcoin, valued at more than $6 million at the time, had been forfeited as part of an asset liquidation agreement involving the developers of Samourai Wallet.
Court records from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York show that defendants Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill agreed to transfer Bitcoin worth roughly $6.37 million to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The agreement authorized the agency to immediately liquidate the assets using a cryptocurrency exchange of its choosing, with proceeds converted into U.S. dollars after fees.
However, the timing and method of the sale have raised questions because they appear to run counter to Executive Order 14233, signed by Trump earlier this year.
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The order directs that Bitcoin obtained through criminal or civil forfeiture be retained by the federal government and allocated to the U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, rather than sold on the open market.
The apparent sale of the Samourai-related Bitcoin suggests that, at least in this instance, the Marshals Service proceeded under existing forfeiture and liquidation practices rather than the newer executive mandate.
Why It Matters
Analysts note that the order was intended to formalize Bitcoin as a strategic federal asset, limiting discretionary sales that could impact markets or undermine long-term reserve policy.
The episode is not the first point of tension in the Samourai Wallet case.
According to reports, actions taken by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have at times diverged from broader federal guidance, particularly as Washington recalibrates its stance on digital assets amid growing geopolitical and financial considerations.
Neither the U.S. Marshals Service nor the Department of Justice has publicly commented on whether the November 3 transaction complied with Executive Order 14233 or whether exceptions were applied.
Coinbase Prime, which facilitated the transaction, has not commented on the matter.
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