Trump’s Crypto Adviser Confirms Probe Into Alleged Theft From U.S. Crypto Reserve

U.S. authorities are examining allegations that more than $40 million in seized cryptocurrency was stolen from wallets linked to the U.S. crypto reserve. This follows statements from Trump’s crypto adviser Patrick Witt and U.S. Marshals officials. 

Officials Launch Investigation Into Theft From U.S. Crypto Reserve

The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) confirmed that it is examining claims of access to government-owned cryptocurrency wallets. Patrick Witt, head of digital asset strategy for the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors, responded in an X post to the allegations, stating that they were on it and would provide updates. 

Witt was responding to a claim by on-chain investigator ZachXBT that a threat actor, John ‘Lick’ Daghita, had stolen over $40 million from the U.S. government seizure addresses. This is significant as these seized crypto assets form part of the U.S. crypto reserve following President Donald Trump’s executive orders, which he signed last year.

ZachXBT stated that John stole these crypto assets through his dad, who owns Command Services & Support (CMDSS), which he claimed currently has an active IT government contract in Virginia. The on-chain investigator also mentioned that CMDSS received a contract to assist the U.S. Marshals in managing the seized crypto assets, although it is unclear how John obtained access to these funds from his dad.

This development notably comes just weeks after allegations that the Department of Justice had liquidated seized Bitcoin holdings from the Samourai Wallet, which was meant to form part of the U.S. crypto reserve. However, Witt confirmed that this wasn’t true after investigating the allegation.

How the Theft Came To Light

ZachXBT had first drawn attention to the theft from the U.S. crypto reserve after John revealed his wallet addresses in a Telegram group following a heated argument with another threat actor. He traced the source of John’s funds to a crypto wallet that had received stolen funds from the U.S. seizure addresses in 2024.

The on-chain investigator also noted that the threat actor’s wallets have ties to over $90 million in suspected thefts from the U.S. government and other unidentified victims. Meanwhile, ZachXBT already reported the case to the authorities even before Witt confirmed that the White House was investigating the theft.

It is still unclear what crypto assets John stole from the U.S. crypto reserve, and if it includes Bitcoin, which forms part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. It is worth noting that the U.S. has yet to give an update on how much BTC it holds since Trump signed the executive order.

However, according to BiTBo, the U.S. government currently holds 198,012 BTC, ranking as the country with the largest crypto holding. China is second with 194,000 BTC.