It is claimed that US officials do not know the amount of Bitcoin they hold! Here is the continuation of the allegations of mismanagement

The US Marshals Service, responsible for managing assets seized in criminal investigations, is struggling to disclose cryptocurrency assets and raising concerns about potential government plans for a national crypto reserve. (USMS).

The USMS manages various seized assets, including real estate, cash, jewelry, and vehicles. However, when it comes to cryptocurrencies such as billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin (BTC) seized from the Silk Road market in 2013, it appears that the agency lacks an accurate estimate of the assets it holds. According to sources familiar with the matter, even approximate figures for Bitcoin assets are hard to come by.

This neglect is particularly concerning in the wake of White House Crypto Chief David Sacks' announcement that the US government is exploring the creation of a national crypto reserve. Such a reserve could mean the government might cease to liquidate seized crypto assets and could even start accumulating them.

Les Borsai, co-founder of Wave Digital Assets, emphasized the importance of understanding crypto nuances such as forks, airdrops, and price fluctuations when managing reserves. In his statement, he said, “In order for institutions to be sufficiently educated or to understand how they will achieve their goals, it is necessary to work with professionals who understand.”

Even if they are not a national reserve, tracking and liquidating seized crypto assets properly remains important as the Department of Justice plays a key role in financing (DOJ). However, some experts claim that the current tracking system of USMS is old and prone to errors. Chip Borman, Vice President of Addx Corporation, which provides technological solutions to the US government, claimed that the institution uses an Excel spreadsheet to manage crypto assets and referred to it as "a billion-dollar mistake waiting to happen."

Concerns about poor management date back years. Timothy Clarke, CEO of the crypto consultancy firm ECC Solutions and a former Treasury special agent, stated that as recently as 2019, the USMS managed only a handful of crypto assets and forced other federal agencies to manage their own storage areas. Clarke also revealed that it took weeks for the USMS to provide BTC deposit addresses, sending them via unencrypted email, which he described as 'very, very unsafe'.

IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), like other agencies, employs stricter protocols for the transmission of such sensitive information, including encrypted attachments, video calls, and multi-step authentication processes.

In 2022, the Office of the Inspector General issued a report warning that the USMS lacks sufficient policies for crypto storage, monitoring, and liquidation. The agency also identified a lack of a system to track forked assets, which could lead to the loss of revenue from cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV).

In addition, in November 2022, USMS announced that it had lost control of two Ethereum wallets after a software update. The agency acknowledged uncertainty about whether the issue stemmed from an incorrect private key or a wallet malfunction.

In addition to concerns, Addx COO John Millward claimed that currently, a single employee is managing the disposal of crypto assets in an 'individual account.' Despite significant financial responsibility, it is reported that the role lacks senior oversight and further increases concerns about potential mismanagement.