Concerns over the security and oversight of Bitcoin held by the US government have intensified following the revelation of an insider theft involving $40 million worth of digital assets. The theft was carried out by an insider associated with a contractor linked to the US Marshals Service. The contractor, Command Services and Support (CMDSS), a Virginia-based company contracted in October 2024 to manage government-seized digital assets, was responsible for safeguarding cryptocurrencies that are not listed on major exchanges and are connected to notable crimes, including the 2016 Bitfinex hack. Investigations revealed that the son of CMDSS’s president, Dean Daghita, accessed government wallets through internal channels and transferred the assets. Evidence emerged from a private Telegram conversation showing the direct transfer of stolen crypto, with blockchain analysis confirming these wallets were linked to government-seized funds. This incident has exposed vulnerabilities in the US government’s crypto asset protection systems, as the total government-held Bitcoin amounts to billions of dollars and current monitoring measures appear insufficient. While some of the stolen funds have been recovered, millions remain unretrievable, raising concerns about further losses. Neither the US Marshals Service nor CMDSS has issued an official statement, but experts have urged immediate measures to secure private keys and strengthen oversight systems to prevent future incidents. The event highlights ongoing challenges faced by US agencies in managing cryptocurrency assets and raises questions about the safeguarding of seized crypto by law enforcement.
Source: bitcoinmagazine
