The United States federal government made an on-chain payment worth $34,800 of confiscated crypto assets in the form of 2,466 UNI, 152,925 CRO, and 1,589 LINK into Coinbase Prime. These crypto assets were confiscated from Brian Krewson, an Oracle technician. The transaction happened approximately at 7:15 GMT. As of now, there is no market disruption due to the size of the transaction and the fact that they are altcoins. According to reports, Brian was part of a crypto money laundering scheme worth $54 million involving cocaine traffickers. He was employed by Oracle from 2015 to 2023. Krewson also moonlights as an entertainment performer who goes by the stage name “Mr. Poto.” Arkham Intelligence sheds light on USG’s massive crypto portfolio The Arkham Intelligence public explorer for the USG entity displays an overview of 610 wallet addresses with a total value of $27.06 billion as of May 8, 2026, down 0.9% from the previous period. The biggest share of the portfolio is Bitcoin (BTC) with 328,361 units worth roughly $26.64 billion. In addition, Ethereum accounts for 62,756 tokens worth $146.47 million, followed by stablecoins and wrapped coins, such as USDT at $126.22 million and WBTC at $60.75 million. US government’s crypto holdings. Source: Arkham Intelligence. Today’s move is not an isolated event. According to historical data on Arkham, the US government’s crypto wallets typically transfer seized tokens to Coinbase Prime before an auction or OTC sale. Recent activity tabs show a pattern of asset consolidation. Various seized asset tags, associated with names like Glenn Olivio and Ross Ulbricht, have seen similar transfers to Coinbase Prime addresses in the last few weeks. Who is Brian Krewson? The Oracle technician turned crypto launderer In 2023, the DOJ stated that Krewson facilitated laundering $54 million worth of digital currencies for Christopher Castelluzzo and Luke Atwell, both of whom were convicted for trafficking cocaine in 2018, generating $2.5 million to $3 million per month. Both Castelluzzo and Atwell were convicted in 2018 and given 21 and 19 years in jail, respectively. They got most of their money through blue sky market sales on the dark web. The evidence was recorded phone conversations between Krewson, Castelluzzo, and Atwell, discussing transferring the money to other countries such as Malta and the Bahamas. On one occasion, Krewson seemed concerned about protecting himself legally. Although he reassured those with him about wallet protection during the July 2022 raid of his Colorado Springs residence, Krewson later gave up the wallet passwords, and the crypto was moved into a DOJ wallet. When Krewson’s wallet was first seized in July 2022, the value of the ETH was estimated at about $31 million. However, it increased to over $54 million in early November 2023. No criminal charges were filed against Krewson. According to Krewson’s lawyer Steve Rodemer, since Krewson cooperated and provided all truthful information, “that chapter of his life is now closed.” Irish drug dealer’s “lost” Bitcoin fortune partially recovered Irish law enforcement gained access to the inactive wallet of notorious cannabis seller Clifton Collins, transferring 500 BTC estimated to be worth around $35 million. Collins is 55 years old. Born in Crumlin, a working-class suburb of Dublin, he was once a modest security guard and also an award-winning beekeeper. He expanded his cannabis cultivation business through rented lands in Ireland since around 2005. With money earned from his drug business, Collins invested in bitcoin, purchasing roughly 6,000 BTC between late 2011 and early 2012. At the time, the investment was worth just around $30,000. By early 2017, however, that amount grew to millions, even billions. Worried about cyber threats, Collins stored his cryptocurrencies across 12 wallets, each holding 500 BTC. The private keys were then written down on paper, which was kept within an aluminum lid of a fishing rod in County Galway. Clifton Collins: Lost Keys” wallet balance on Arkham . In a recent development, the “Clifton Collins: Lost Keys” wallet, as listed on Arkham Intelligence, suddenly became active. The 500 BTC were transferred in a single transaction to a mysterious wallet, which has since been further distributed across various wallets. One part has been moved to the Coinbase Prime wallet, indicating institutional custody of the funds. If you want a calmer entry point into DeFi crypto without the usual hype, start with this free video.
