How the US Government Just Made $115M in Ethereum Without Buying or Trading, How?

Key Insights:

• The U.S. government transferred 76.56 ETH to Coinbase on July 7, locking in a realized gain of nearly $132,000
• The ETH stash was originally seized from the 2022 Chase Senecal phishing scam.
• Current wallets show holdings of over $23.4 billion across BTC, ETH, USDT, and altcoins.

The U.S. government moving ETH isn’t new. But the latest round of transfers tells a different story. Instead of dumping like usual, officials made a careful move to Coinbase when Ethereum was low. It then pulled funds back quietly after a major price surge.

This single action resulted in both realized and unrealized gains. Together, those passive profits crossed $115 million without buying or trading a single coin.

Ethereum to Coinbase and Back

On July 7, the U.S. government moved $200,000 worth of ETH to Coinbase when Ethereum traded around $2,530.

The transfer came from a wallet linked to the Chase Senecal seizure.

The Chase Senecal hack happened in 2022, when U.S. authorities seized over 86 Ethereum, high-value NFTs, and a luxury watch from a phishing scammer. The theft was exposed by on-chain investigator ZachXBT.

Weeks later, when Ethereum crossed $4,300, that same wallet received $332,460 worth of ETH back from Coinbase. This return included 76.56 ETH, based on the current price at the time.

That difference marked a realized gain of roughly $132,000; a 66% increase. The ETH went to Coinbase, stayed idle, and then returned after price appreciation.

Every step was confirmed by on-chain tools like Arkham and Lookonchain, leaving no doubt about the wallet ownership or timeline.

Over $115M in Unrealized Gains Still Held

The U.S. government moving ETH involved only a fraction of its total ETH stash. As of now, over 65,000 ETH remains in government wallets. Back in July, those holdings were worth less than $165 million when ETH hovered around $2,530.

At $4,300, that stash was valued at nearly $280 million.

This means the unrealized gain was over $115 million, just from holding ETH seized during criminal investigations.

Unlike Bitcoin, which the government usually dumps in auctions, Ethereum hasn’t been treated the same way.

What’s Inside the US Government’s Ethereum Wallet Right Now

At press time, the U.S. government wallet, tracked by Arkham, held a sizable and surprisingly diverse crypto stash. The total balance stood at over $23.4 billion, according to on-chain data.

What does this tell us? First, the U.S. government hasn’t been liquidating everything.

Many of these tokens were likely seized during criminal trackdowns; yet instead of instantly offloading them, large portions have stayed idle.

In other cases, the tokens were moved to exchanges and later pulled back, like the ETH case from July 2025. And most token stashes are trading in the green. This means that the U.S. government might be sitting on a lot of unrealized gains.

Second, this mix looks surprisingly close to a high-cap DeFi trader’s cold wallet.

Stablecoins for flexibility, ETH and BTC as base layers, and blue-chip altcoins that have both liquidity and long-term use cases. It’s passive but oddly well-positioned, like someone waiting for good prices.

The U.S. government moving ETH may not seem like a big deal at first glance. But when you break down the exact timings, volumes, and outcomes, it reveals something surprising: a non-trading entity timed a perfect move and earned $115 million in unrealized profits without ever clicking “buy” or “sell.”