White House Confirms Government Has Not Sold Seized Bitcoin from Samourai Wallet Developers

According to a ChainCatcher report, the top White House crypto advisor stated that U.S. prosecutors have not liquidated the digital assets seized from the developers of Samourai Wallet. Previously, there were reports that Bitcoin might have been sold, which would violate an executive order signed by former President Trump. Patrick Witt, the Executive Director of the President's Digital Asset Advisory Committee, posted on social media on Friday that he had received a response from the Department of Justice regarding the case against Samourai developers William Lonergan Hill and Keonne Rodriguez. "Update: We have received confirmation from the Department of Justice that the digital assets seized from Samourai Wallet have not been liquidated and will not be liquidated, as per Executive Order 14233," Witt wrote in a tweet. "They will be retained on the government's balance sheet as part of a strategic Bitcoin reserve." Earlier this month, Bitcoin Magazine cited court documents and data reporting that the U.S. Marshals Service had sold over $6 million worth of Bitcoin—assets transferred to the Department of Justice as part of Rodriguez and Hill's plea agreement and sent to a Coinbase Prime address, possibly for sale. If these Bitcoins were indeed sold, it would violate Trump's March executive order establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve.