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02/07/24
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U.S. Marshals Service Selected Coinbase to Custody Digital Assets
On July 1, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase revealed that the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) will use its Coinbase Prime to safeguard, trade its large cap digital asset portfolio. The USMS is a division of the U.S. Department of Justice and announced its selection of Coinbase Prime for custody and advanced trading services for its large cap digital assets.
One of the responsibilities of the USMS is to manage and dispose of large quantities of crypto assets, known as Class 1 cryptocurrencies, “requiring the use of multiple, industry leading, storage and liquidation techniques employed in a manner that is professional, lawful, and consistent with Department and USMS policy.”
Two years ago, the results of an audit released by the Office of the Inspector General for the Justice Department suggested that there are challenges related to the management and tracking of crypto faced by the Marshals Service. Four months ago, it was reported that the USMS had started exploring contracts for firms to offer cryptocurrency custody services.
According to the details provided by the USMS, this contract will streamline custody, management, and disposal processes for crypto assets, as well as ensure that the type of crypto assets that can be managed and disposed of under the forfeiture programs are diversifiable.
Coinbase noted that the USMS carried out a due diligence process which involved the evaluation of several solutions and eventually chose Coinbase “due to our strong track record and ability to securely provide institutional-grade crypto services at scale.” The contract was awarded to Coinbase on June 28, with a total contract value of about $32.523 million.
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