US Government Hunts Down $2.4M in Bitcoin Linked to Chaos Ransomware Attack

The US Justice Department just turned bounty hunter—tracking a $2.4M Bitcoin haul tied to the notorious Chaos ransomware gang. Cybercriminals, meet your new tax collector.

Follow the Crypto Trail

Federal investigators traced the digital breadcrumbs straight to wallets tied to the group’s infrastructure. No fancy blockchain forensics? No problem—old-school subpoenas still get the job done.

Ransomware’s Bad ROI

Chaos operators thought they’d cashed out. Instead, they’re learning the hard way: crime doesn’t pay when Uncle Sam treats your Bitcoin like unclaimed property. Bonus lesson? Even hackers get rekt by bear markets.

One Treasury official quipped, ‘We’ll HODL these funds just fine.’ Ouch.

The US government aims to claim 20.2 BTC, worth about $2.4 million, seized by the Dallas FBI from the Chaos ransomware group. If successful, these bitcoins will be added to the United States’ Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, a national asset fund created in 2025 that holds forfeited bitcoin as a long-term store of value. This reserve treats Bitcoin as a strategic financial asset and does not sell its holdings, strengthening the country’s digital asset strategy.