Coinbase will be the custodian for the US Marshals Service
As part of the task of managing assets obtained as a result of asset forfeitures, US Marshals Service (USMS) is using Coinbase Prime to custody certain digital assets.
Coinbase’s New Role with the US Marshals Service
Coinbase notified the general public of the assets worth large-caps that had been taken from the USMS and moved them to such an intermediate fund which is, by the way, under the jurisdiction of the Government represented by the USMS. Usually, the federal agency retains the role of taking in or storing the crypto that has been seized by the DoJ and the cryptocurrency exchange will be in charge of the assets “centrally to facilitate” the federal agency.
Acknowledging the Challenges the Agency Faced Earlier
In a 2022 report by the Office of the Inspector General for the Justice Department, it was asserted that the Marshals Service “encountered hardships in management and monitoring of cryptocurrencies.” Subsequently, the USMS began some steps to seek contracts in the crypto custody area with firms in March this year.
Collaboration with the Law Enforcement and its Historical Perspective
Coinbase seemingly is often involved in cooperating with law enforcement agencies for storing or selling confiscated crypto. The USMS had various possessions such as FTX and Silk Road that are extinct cryptocurrency software. The public records reflected that the USMS under the contract has paid $32 million to Coinbase Prime.
Lawful and Statutory Hurdles
However, despite the joint effort signals, Coinbase is still party to a lawsuit as a respondent, which came in the form of a civil litigation versus the SEC, in June 2023. The financial institution has come under scrutiny over how it is handling enforcement actions and in particular, people have questioned the Supreme Court ruling that states that defendants should get a jury trial for securities fraud.
Coinbase’s Actions Against Government Agencies
Besides the SEC lawsuit, Coinbase submitted lawsuits against the SEC and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for not responding to through the Freedom of Information Act requests. This is a milestone in the cooperation between the cryptocurrency niche and law enforcement officials; it is proof of the sustainability of the approach-oriented at the safekeeping and the legal framework of the cryptocurrency arena.
