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Blockchain trackers spot the movement
Onchain researchers reported on Aug. 28 that Bitcoin connected to Collins was moving again, with 500 BTC reaching Coinbase Prime valued at $39.56 million. The blockchain tracker associated the transfer with a group of wallets that once held approximately 6,000 BTC and were thought to be inaccessible after their private keys disappeared.
The blockchain data identifies movements between labeled addresses, but researchers did not provide evidence that Collins personally controlled the sending wallet or directed the transaction. Irish authorities had already gained access to several wallets in the same group, making it possible that the latest activity involved seized assets under official control.
Coinbase Prime serves institutions, companies, and government agencies through custody and trade execution services. Although Bitcoin sent to the platform could be sold, the deposit alone does not show whether the coins were liquidated, placed in custody, or moved as part of an asset-management process. No statement from Ireland's Criminal Assets Bureau or Europol accompanied the transaction at the time of the report.
The fishing rod case that lost 6,000 BTC
Collins acquired about 6,000 BTC in late 2011 and early 2012 with proceeds from cannabis sales, according to earlier reports cited by Irish authorities and blockchain intelligence firms. Bitcoin traded at around $5 during parts of that period, putting his estimated purchase cost near $30,000 before the holdings later rose to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Rather than keeping the balance in one place, Collins reportedly divided the coins among 12 wallets containing roughly 500 BTC each. He printed the private keys on a sheet of paper and concealed it inside the aluminum cap of a fishing rod case stored at a rented property in County Galway. Following his arrest in 2017, the property was cleared, and the fishing equipment was believed to have been taken to a waste facility.
With the paper no longer available, the Bitcoin appeared unreachable even after the assets became subject to seizure proceedings. Access began returning in March 2026, when Irish authorities announced that they had opened one of the wallets with help from Europol's European Cybercrime Centre. The recovered wallet held 500 BTC and sent the coins to Coinbase Prime after years without activity.
Recovery timeline shows incremental progress
A second 500 BTC wallet became accessible by May, increasing the amount recovered from the Collins-linked group to 1,000 BTC. The second batch followed a different route, reaching a deposit address linked by Arkham Intelligence to market maker Wintermute rather than Coinbase Prime. Neither agency disclosed the method used to open the wallets, leaving the technical details of the recovery outside the public record.
By early July, the Criminal Assets Bureau had secured another wallet with support from Europol, taking the known recovery to 1,500 BTC. A third 500 BTC recovery reduced the amount still associated with dormant addresses to about 4,500 BTC at the time. The bureau said its July operation again involved the European Cybercrime Centre, with Europol hosting operational meetings in The Hague and supplying technical and decryption support.
The Aug. 28 transfer carried the same number of coins as previous recoveries but a higher dollar value because Bitcoin was trading at a higher price. While the latest movement may represent access to another wallet, neither onchain researchers nor an Irish agency confirmed that authorities had completed a fourth 500 BTC recovery. Counting it as an additional seizure before an official statement would go beyond the available evidence. The original structure of 12 wallets, each holding about 500 BTC, explains why observed transactions have repeatedly appeared in equal-sized batches.
Coinbase Prime handles government assets globally
Coinbase Prime's role gives the story a direct point of comparison for U.S. readers because American agencies also use the platform to manage forfeited cryptocurrency. The U.S. Marshals Service selected Coinbase Prime in 2024 to provide custody and trading services for certain seized digital assets. In July 2026, wallets attributed to the U.S. government transferred nearly $297 million in Bitcoin and Ether to the platform, including about 3,940 BTC worth $244 million and approximately 30,000 ETH valued at $53 million.
Government deposits do not establish that a sale has occurred. U.S. agencies may transfer digital assets to consolidate holdings, satisfy a court order, return funds to verified victims, or prepare assets for disposal where legally permitted. Ireland operates under its own asset-recovery system, where the Criminal Assets Bureau pursues property considered to be proceeds of crime while Europol supplies technical support to member states during investigations.
