Key Takeaways
- In June 2025, the GIOC team conducted its largest seizure to date—$225 million in crypto—after a multi-agency operation.
- Much of the recovered crypto sits offline in cold storage.
The United States Secret Service has quietly built one of the largest government-controlled cryptocurrency holdings in the world, recovering nearly $400 million in digital assets over the last ten years. The funds—largely stored in a single cold wallet—are the result of coordinated seizures from cybercrime investigations led by the agency’s Global Investigative Operations Center (GIOC).
This growing crypto war chest stems from years of pursuing online scams, including investment fraud, phishing campaigns, romance scams, and extortion plots. One common pattern involves scammers setting up websites that mimic legitimate investment platforms, convincing victims to deposit crypto funds. These platforms often vanish without warning, taking victims’ assets with them.
In June 2025, the GIOC team conducted its largest seizure to date—$225 million in crypto—after a multi-agency operation. The recovery was executed in coordination with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This single action pushed the total amount of seized crypto to the $400 million mark, according to officials familiar with the operation.
Much of the recovered crypto sits offline in cold storage. A cold storage involves transferring private keys, which are essential for accessing and managing cryptocurrency, to a device or medium not connected to the internet. Analysts at GIOC use blockchain forensics, VPN tracing, domain records, and small operational mistakes by criminals to trace funds and identify suspects.
Cases have ranged from high-level fraud to personal tragedies. Crypto scams have increased in recent years. As per US citizens, $9.3 billion was lost to crypto scams throughout 2024. According to a blockchain security firm, crypto exploits and scams spiked to $2.47 billion in the first half of 2025. The report noted that the first half of 2025 has witnessed over $2.47 billion in losses due to hacks, scams and exploits, representing a nearly 3% increase compared to the $2.4 billion stolen in 2024.
