US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Grew by 64 Percent Overnight – Here’s What You Need to Know

According to data from Galaxy Research, the US Treasury Department has been authorized to hold seized digital assets within the “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” since March.

With the addition of assets from the Prince Group investigation, the reserve grew by 64% overnight. The US government's Bitcoin holdings now surpass those of all institutions except MicroStrategy.

Galaxy Research reported that this was the largest asset seizure operation in the history of the US Department of Justice, seizing 127,271 Bitcoins (approximately $15 billion).

At the center of the investigation is Chen Zhi, Chairman of Cambodia-based Prince Holding Group. Prosecutors allege Chen ran a large-scale criminal network involving online illegal activities, forced labor camps, and investment scams known as “pig-butchering.” The illicit proceeds were allegedly laundered through cryptocurrency mining companies like Warp Data (based in Laos-Texas) and LuBian (based in China).

LuBian made headlines in 2020 with a major private key vulnerability (“Milk Sad”). This vulnerability resulted in the theft of 127,000 BTC. It's noteworthy that the wallet addresses listed in the DOJ's latest indictment match those of LuBian.com, which was attacked due to weak encryption during this period.

According to Galaxy's analysis, the Prince Group and LuBian were not two separate entities, but rather different branches of the same criminal organization. The FBI seized keys to wallets personally controlled by Chen, leading to the discovery of over 127,000 BTC. Chen is reportedly still at large, but has been placed on OFAC's sanctions list.

This development aligns with Washington's new fiscal strategy. An executive order enacted in March stipulates that seized digital assets be added to government reserves rather than sold. Thus, the US is positioning Bitcoin as a store of value similar to gold reserves, maintaining its status as “digital gold.”

With the latest seizure, the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is equivalent to approximately 3.5% of the country's gold holdings in dollar terms. According to a Galaxy Research report, “the US government is now the largest holder of Bitcoin in the world, aside from MicroStrategy.”