Blockchain tracking firm Lookonchain reported on Aug. 28 that a dormant Bitcoin wallet linked to convicted Irish drug dealer Clifton Collins moved 500 BTC, worth approximately $39.56 million, to Coinbase Prime. The transfer came from a group of wallets once holding about 6,000 BTC that had been considered inaccessible for years after private keys were lost.
Collins reportedly acquired roughly 6,000 BTC in late 2011 and early 2012 with proceeds from cannabis sales, when Bitcoin traded around $5. He split the holdings across 12 wallets of about 500 BTC each and hid printed private keys inside a fishing rod case in County Galway. After his 2017 arrest, the fishing equipment disappeared, and the Bitcoin appeared unreachable even as seizure proceedings moved forward.
Access began returning in March 2026, when Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau and Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre recovered one wallet containing 500 BTC. Additional 500 BTC recoveries followed in May and July, bringing the confirmed total to 1,500 BTC. The Aug. 28 transfer may represent another 500 BTC batch, but authorities had not yet confirmed a fourth recovery when Lookonchain flagged the activity.
Coinbase Prime is an institutional custody and trading platform also used by government agencies for seized digital assets. A deposit to the platform does not by itself prove that Bitcoin has been sold; the coins could be in custody, consolidated, or managed as part of asset-forfeiture proceedings. The possible liquidation of 500 BTC could create short-term volatility, though the amount remains small relative to daily Bitcoin trading volumes.
The movement highlights the increasing effectiveness of on-chain analysis and international law enforcement cooperation in tracing and recovering crypto linked to crime, while also showing how seized assets are entering regulated institutional channels.
