US transfers $768K of seized Chainlink to Coinbase Prime

A U.S. government wallet transferred 98,590 Chainlink (LINK) tokens, valued at about $768,000, to Coinbase Prime on Wednesday. Blockchain trackers flagged the deposit within minutes, but on-chain records do not confirm the tokens will be sold on public exchanges.

The tokens originate from assets seized after the November 2022 collapse of FTX and Alameda Research. A federal judge ordered Sam Bankman-Fried to forfeit $11 billion after his fraud conviction; recovered funds are designated for victim compensation and creditor payouts from the FTX estate.

In July 2024 the U.S. Marshals Service selected Coinbase Prime to custody and trade large-cap digital assets, according to Coinbase. Deposits to that platform have previously preceded custody transfers, over-the-counter transactions or liquidations. The U.S. Marshals Service has handled seized crypto sales since a 2014 auction of Silk Road bitcoins and has typically used structured sale processes.

Earlier transfers from seized clusters have included altcoins and stablecoins. The FTX estate has continued creditor repayments, with a fourth distribution of $2.2 billion in March.

At the time of the transfer Chainlink traded near $7.66, down about 2% over 24 hours, with a market capitalization of roughly $5.6 billion and a rank around 21st by market value. The moved amount equals less than 0.4% of LINK’s $225 million daily trading volume and about 0.01% of the roughly 727 million tokens currently circulating.

Chainlink has declined about 27% over the past 30 days and roughly 49% over the past year. Analysts point to potential institutional demand tied to ETF flows as a factor that could influence how additional supply is absorbed.

On-chain tracking identified the sending address as part of a cluster previously linked to U.S. government seizures. The wallet’s next transactions should clarify whether the deposit reflects routine custody management, an over-the-counter arrangement, or the start of a liquidation.