3:26-mj-70525-1 Application by the United States for a Seizure Warrant for One Circle Account for Investigation of 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and Other Offenses

The United States filed a sealed application in the Northern District of California for a seizure warrant targeting a single Circle account, citing 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) — the civil forfeiture statute tied to proceeds of specified unlawful activity — along with unspecified additional offenses. The docket number is 3:26-mj-70525-1.

No judge has been assigned on the public record.

Circle Internet Financial is the issuer of USDC, a dollar-pegged stablecoin. A seizure warrant directed at a Circle account means the government wants to freeze and take control of specific funds held there, not merely subpoena records. That is a more aggressive step: it requires a magistrate to find probable cause that the funds are traceable to a crime.

The court entered an order on a motion to seal on April 20, 2026. Two separate motion entries appear on that date. The substance of those motions is not public.

Sealing at the warrant application stage is routine when investigators want to avoid tipping off the account holder, but it also means the target of the warrant may not yet know the government is moving against their funds.

Section 981(a)(1)(C) covers proceeds from a long list of predicate offenses — wire fraud, money laundering, computer fraud, and others. The government has not disclosed publicly which predicate it is relying on here. The reference to 'other offenses' in the case caption suggests the warrant application names at least one additional statutory hook.

No indictment or criminal complaint is publicly linked to this docket. This proceeding is at the magistrate-judge level, which is standard for warrant applications. Whether a criminal case follows depends on what the investigation turns up and whether prosecutors decide to charge.