US Government Seizes 127,195 Bitcoin in Pig Butchering Scam, Here’s Current Wallet Composition

The U.S. government recently increased its total Bitcoin (BTC) holdings following a seizure in a pig butchering scam. With a total of 316,760 BTC, the U.S government is now one of the largest known holders of Bitcoin.

The pig butchering seizure is tied to a string of BTC seizures by the U.S government.

U.S. Government Seizes $13.2 Billion Bitcoin from Chen Zhi

On-chain data provider CryptoQuant spotlighted the latest Bitcoin seizure by the U.S government. According to CryptoQuant, the government seized 127,195 BTC linked to Chen Zhi’s “pig butchering” scam.

This is the largest single cryptocurrency forfeiture in U.S. history, valued at about $13.2 billion at the time of seizure.

The latest seizure has pushed the U.S. government’s total Bitcoin holdings to 316,760 BTC, valued at approximately $35.9 billion.

Behind the scenes of the latest BTC seizure, Federal prosecutors claim Chen Zhi oversaw a vast criminal network in Cambodia built on forced labor.

Prosecutors accused Chen Zhi, the founder and Chairman of Prince Holding Group, of extracting billions from victims in the U.S. and around the world.

Accordingly, the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil forfeiture complaint to seize the 127,195 BTC from wallets controlled by Chen.

The Justice Department said Chen remains at large. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.

Notably, the U.S. Treasury also sanctioned the Prince Group and over 100 of its associates as a criminal entity.

The seized BTC is now in U.S. custody, with private keys transferred to government control. Victims may eventually claim restitution, but much of the amount may be placed in a strategic reserve.

U.S Government on a BTC Seizure Spree

In a parallel report from Arkham Intelligence, it appears the U.S. government has seized BTC linked to the Lubian Bitcoin mining operation.

According to data from Arkham, the U.S. government quietly seized an additional 21,238 BTC, valued at roughly $2.3 billion.

This would be an extension of the massive pig butchering scam seizure related to Chen Zhi.

Akham estimates that the U.S government currently holds a total of 346,018 BTC.

This figure would surpass major private holders, such as Fidelity Investments, Bitfinex, and Tether, making the U.S. the largest known Bitcoin whale globally.

However, this additional seizure linked to Lubian has not yet been fully confirmed.

So far, the U.S government has seized 127,195.65 BTC from Chen Zhi and 106,910.50 BTC from the Bitfinex Hack.

Other known seizures include 81,988.37 BTC from Silk Road and 667.62 BTC from Potapenko/Turogin.

In the UK, police raided a property related to the Chinese National and seized Bitcoin worth £5 billion ($6.7 billion).

Is a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve Still in Place?

It is worth mentioning that the U.S. government does not buy Bitcoin outright. Rather, it accumulates the leading coin through law enforcement actions, such as Chen Zhi’s “pig butchering” scam.

Under a March 2025 executive order by President Trump, seized BTC feeds into the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Under this policy, the government would treat BTC as a national asset rather than auctioning it off immediately.

The executive order also directed a full audit of the government’s digital asset holdings to establish an accurate inventory.

Additionally, Ken Bessent and Howard Lutnick have received authorization to explore Bitcoin acquisition methods that do not require taxpayer funding.

Moreover, Chainalysis recently predicted that the U.S. government could seize $75 billion in illicit crypto for its strategic Bitcoin reserves.