U.S. Ethereum Holdings Surge to $281M Following Latest Uranium Hack Coinbase Transfer
Federal crypto reserves just got a massive boost—and it's all thanks to some digital sleuthing.
The Treasury's Ethereum wallet now holds a staggering $281 million after intercepting funds linked to the Uranium Finance exploit. That's not just pocket change—it's one of the largest government crypto seizures in history.
Coinbase executed the transfer that pushed the portfolio into nine-figure territory. The exchange moved the assets directly to the government-controlled address, marking another chapter in the ongoing battle against DeFi exploits.
While regulators cheer the recovery, crypto natives can't help but notice the irony—the same government that often criticizes crypto volatility now sits on a quarter-billion dollar digital war chest. Talk about having your cake and eating it too.
This isn't just a win for law enforcement—it's proof that blockchain transparency cuts both ways. Bad actors might score temporary gains, but the ledger never forgets.
So next time someone questions crypto's legitimacy, just point to the $281 million in ETH that's now funding government operations. The irony's thicker than a Bitcoin maximalist's rhetoric.
Uranium Finance hack and government recovery efforts
One of the largest thefts that occurred in DeFi was the Uranium Finance exploit in April 2021. Built as a fork of Uniswap on Binance Smart Chain, the project was compromised on its smart contract, with attackers stealing over $52 million in digital assets.
The hacker used advanced laundering mechanisms, such as sending money through Tornado Cash and aligning transactions into smaller ones across exchanges. Reports also suggested acquisitions of rare collectibles to mask stolen value. Despite such strategies, law enforcement tracked movements and coordinated across jurisdictions, leading to the seizure of assets.
In February 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and Homeland Security Investigations announced that it had recovered more than $31 million in assets connected to the hack. The growth indicated the increasing forensic capacity in tracing blockchain transactions.
Uranium Finance closed shortly after the exploit, with investors receiving no compensation. The recent repatriation of money has given some hope of future compensation, although no formal compensation system has been declared.
The accumulation of confiscated funds over time on government accounts seems to be part of a systematic unification process before repayment efforts occur. With the recent ethereum move, investors affected are assured that it will remain an active case, but the portion of recovered funds will likely be distributed in due time.
Expanding government crypto portfolio
The U.S. government now has one of the world’s biggest crypto portfolios. Arkham Intelligence data estimates a total holding of about $23.4 billion. The largest part of this sum is made up of Bitcoin, which comprises around $22.5 billion, as Cryptopolitan recently reported. The rest is distributed between Ethereum, stablecoins, Binance Coin (BNB), and other tokens.
The recent ETH inflow contributes to an ever-increasing collection of confiscated digital assets that comprise the larger total government holdings. U.S. authorities have, over the years, confiscated cryptocurrencies during enforcement proceedings of hacks, fraud, and other online crimes.
CoinGecko data show that Ethereum has increased by over 2% in the past 24 hours to reverse the levels it reached earlier this week when it was trading at around $4,000. The token is currently up by 17% over the past month and is set to have one of its strongest third quarters on record.
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