The United States Marshals Service (USMS) will use Coinbase Prime to custody certain digital assets as part of the law enforcement agency’s responsibility to handle asset forfeiture.

In a July 1 notice, Coinbase said the USMS had selected the exchange’s institutional investing arm “to provide custody and advanced trading services” for large-cap digital assets. The cryptocurrency exchange said it would manage the assets “centrally in support” of the federal agency, which sometimes takes custody of crypto seized by the Justice Department.

In 2022, the Office of the Inspector General for the Justice Department released the results of an audit suggesting that the Marshals Service “faced challenges in managing and tracking cryptocurrency.” In March, the USMS reportedly began exploring contracts for companies to provide crypto custody services. 

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.