Breaking: $38M of Irish Druglord's Seized BTC Moving

A wallet linked to Clifton Collins - the seventh richest on-chain individual in the world according to data from Arkham Intel - has just moved an additional 500 BTC, worth $38M. This follows an initial 500 BTC transfer (worth roughly $35M) to Coinbase Custody earlier in March, bringing the total amount moved out of his entity to 1,000 BTC.

Clifton Collins was an Irish drug dealer who bought 6,000 BTC in 2011-2012. In 2017, he was jailed and his belongings were sent to a dump by his landlord. Read our full bio on Clifton Collins here.

The private keys - necessary to access the Bitcoin - were assumed lost forever. Collins had stashed the private keys inside a fishing rod case, which had been taken to the dump. Waste from that dump in County Galway, Ireland, is routinely sent to Germany or China to be incinerated. Because of this, the crypto world widely accepted the theory that Clifton Collins’ massive BTC hoard was gone for good.

That was until March 2026 when his stash woke up and 500 BTC was transferred out. Today, another 500 BTC has left Clifton Collins wallets. 

Who is Moving the Funds?

Several competing theories are circulating regarding who is actually initiating these latest transfers. The leading explanation points to law enforcement. The Irish Times previously reported that the initial address was seized as part of a joint operation by the Irish police, the Criminal Assets Bureau, and Europol. 

This aligns with a police statement confirming a seizure of approximately €30 million in cryptocurrency, a figure that perfectly matched the first 500 BTC transaction identified by Arkham Intel. 

Today's transfer has not been accompanied by a corresponding police statement, but chances are the police statement will be released in due course. 

Interestingly, this 500 BTC transfer has not ended up in a Coinbase Prime address and instead went into a Wintermute: Binance Deposit address. As Wintermute is a market-maker, this transfer suggests that the 500 BTC is likely being sold

You can track the transactions linked to Clifton Collins’ lost BTC wallets on Arkham Intel.