The U.S. government has officially refuted claims that bitcoin forfeited by Samourai Wallet developers had been liquidated, reassuring the public that these digital assets would instead be added to the nation's Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). Patrick Witt, the Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets and Deputy Director at the Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital, issued a statement on X on January 16, confirming that the Department of Justice (DOJ) verified that the forfeited digital assets "have not been liquidated and will not be liquidated." This decision, Witt emphasized, is in strict adherence to Executive Order 14233, which mandates the retention of government-held bitcoin.

According to Witt's statement, the significant amount of bitcoin will be maintained on the U.S. government’s balance sheet as a constituent part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. This clarification directly addresses earlier reporting by Bitcoin Magazine from the beginning of the month, which had sparked concerns regarding the potential sale of approximately 57.55 bitcoin. Valued at roughly $6.3 million at the time, these assets were reportedly sold in November 2025 by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) through Coinbase Prime, acting under the direction of the DOJ.

Bitcoin Magazine's report had cited an "Asset Liquidation Agreement" and presented on-chain data, which appeared to indicate that the forfeited bitcoin had been transferred directly to a Coinbase Prime address that subsequently showed a zero balance. This data fueled widespread speculation that the assets had indeed been sold, raising questions about compliance with existing executive orders.

The potential sale would have directly contradicted Executive Order 14233, an pivotal directive that explicitly states that bitcoin acquired by the U.S. government through either criminal or civil forfeiture "shall not be sold." Instead, the executive order mandates that such assets must be retained as an integral part of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. This executive order was specifically designed to pivot away from the historical practice of liquidating seized bitcoin, formally recognizing bitcoin's status as a strategic reserve asset for the United States.

The Samourai Wallet case has garnered considerable attention within both Bitcoin and broader crypto policy discussions. Its significance stems not only from the intricate forfeiture issue but also from the overarching concerns it highlights regarding the ongoing prosecutions of developers involved with noncustodial software. In 2025, Samourai developers Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Critics within the industry have vehemently argued that such charges are fundamentally incompatible with the inherent noncustodial nature of the software they developed.

These concerns have been further amplified by what many observers perceive as glaring inconsistencies between the actions taken by the DOJ and the guidance issued under the Trump administration. Notably, Bitcoin journalist Frank Corva pointed to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s April 2025 memo, which explicitly called for an end to what he termed "regulation by prosecution" of noncustodial crypto tools. The administration's confirmation that the Samourai bitcoin remains untouched and designated for the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is likely to be hailed as a significant victory for proponents of the bitcoin industry, signaling a potential shift towards a more consistent and favorable regulatory stance.