US Secret Service Confirms It Has Seized Over $400M in Stolen Crypto

The U.S. Secret Service has quietly become one of the largest cryptocurrency holders in the world, not through investment, but by seizing nearly $400 million in digital assets from a wide range of sophisticated fraud operations.

In a statement posted on its official X account, the agency announced its success directly: “The Secret Service Global Investigative Operations Center leads the way on crypto investigations, recovering more than $400 million in stolen assets from criminals and training law enforcement partners to better understand digital crime.”

This vast sum was not acquired through market investment but was methodically seized from a wide range of sophisticated fraud schemes. According to a Bloomberg report that detailed the agency’s efforts, the majority of these assets are held in a single, highly secure cold storage wallet, keeping the digital keys completely offline.

This crackdown comes as crypto-related fraud continues to surge, accounting for $9.3 billion of the $16.6 billion lost to internet crime by Americans in 2024. A common tactic investigators encounter is the “pig butchering” scam, where victims are lured into fake investment platforms. After seeing small initial gains, they are convinced to invest larger sums before the platform and their funds vanish.

The largest single seizure in the agency’s history—over $225 million in Tether (USDT)—was recovered from such a network after investigators exploited a brief VPN failure to identify a domain name registered by the scammers.

U.S. Secret Service Global Operations and Key Partnerships

The Secret Service’s efforts extend far beyond U.S. borders. As mentioned in their statement, a core part of their strategy involves training international law enforcement to better combat digital crime.

This international collaboration has yielded significant results. In one chilling case, an Idaho teenager was blackmailed by a criminal threatening to release intimate photos. GIOC experts traced the payments through 6,000 transactions worth over $4.1 million to an account registered with a Nigerian passport. The suspect was later apprehended by the U.K. police.

The agency’s success is also bolstered by strong partnerships within the crypto industry. Companies like Coinbase and Tether have publicly confirmed their role in assisting law enforcement, providing crucial information and freezing wallets linked to illicit activities.

Despite these victories, the fight continues as criminals evolve. According to blockchain security firm CertiK, investors still lost $2.2 billion to hacks and scams in the first half of 2025 alone, demonstrating the ongoing challenge for law enforcement worldwide.