In a sign of trust, the US Marshals Service (USMS), which happens to be part of the US Department of Justice, has selected Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) to help it manage its digital assets, which come from seizures and forfeitures. While one part of the federal government pursues Coinbase for alleged transgressions, another recognizes the value of their services.
The USMS is a federal law enforcement agency that claims to be the oldest in the nation. One of the agency’s features is to manage a variety of assets that it receives, including art, jewelry, cars, antiques, and, yes, crypto. Assets that are eventually sold provide funds to support victims of crime. Annually, the U.S. Marshals Service processes more than 30,000 payments, typically exceeding $500 million, to asset forfeiture payees. In 2023, the USMS received over 12000 assets, with the agency reporting almost $6 billion in assets as of the end of September 2023.
As for Coinbase, the firm says they were selected after a competitive process with other options in the mix. Coinbase adds that it has long supported enforcement agencies in their pursuit of criminal activity and rule of law in crypto helps to support the evolution of the ecosystem. Coinbase reports that it works with every major federal, state, and local law enforcement agency in the US.
