Coinbase to Custody US Marshals Service Digital Assets
The American law enforcement agency, the United States Marshals Service (USMS), has chosen to utilize Coinbase Prime for the custody of particular digital assets. This falls within the USMS’s responsibility to handle assets seized by the government.
As announced on July 1, the USMS has selected the institutional investing arm of Coinbase to manage and provide advanced trading services for major digital assets.
The exchange will centrally manage these assets in support of the federal agency, which is sometimes in custody of cryptocurrency seized by the Department of Justice.
In 2022, the Office of the Inspector General for the Justice Department released an audit report indicating that the Marshals Service faced difficulties in managing and tracking cryptocurrency.
Subsequently, in March of this year, the USMS began exploring contracts with companies to provide crypto custody services.
Coinbase has a record of being utilized by law enforcement agencies to either hold or sell crypto that was confiscated during criminal investigations.