The United States government has taken legal control of more than US$400 million worth of bitcoin, cash and property linked to Helix, a cryptocurrency mixing service that operated on the darknet, according to court records.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued a final order of forfeiture on January 21, transferring ownership of the seized assets to the U.S. government following the prosecution of Helix operator Larry Dean Harmon.
Helix operated between 2014 and 2017 as a bitcoin “mixer”, a service designed to obscure the source and destination of cryptocurrency transactions. U.S. prosecutors said the platform was widely used by darknet drug markets and other criminal networks to launder illicit proceeds.
Court documents show that Helix processed about 354,468 bitcoins during its years of operation, valued at roughly US$300 million at the time. Investigators traced significant portions of the funds to major darknet marketplaces, with Harmon earning commissions from each transaction.
Harmon pleaded guilty in August 2021 to conspiracy to commit money laundering. In November 2024, he was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to forfeit assets connected to the operation.
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The forfeited property includes large amounts of cryptocurrency, cash holdings and real estate, including a luxury home in Ohio acquired during the period Helix was active. The assets are now under the control of U.S. authorities.
The seizure is among the largest crypto-related forfeitures linked to a darknet investigation, reflecting continued enforcement actions by U.S. agencies against cryptocurrency-enabled financial crime.
