According to The Telegraph, the UK Home Office is considering selling all seized Bitcoin from criminal activities, with an estimated total value of £5.4 billion (approximately $7.2 billion), to help offset the national budget deficit.
While the specific amount of Bitcoin seized by the UK has not been disclosed, a significant portion likely includes 61,000 BTC from a Ponzi scheme run by a Chinese woman, Zhang. Between 2014 and 2017, Zhang defrauded 128,000 Chinese investors, converting the stolen funds into Bitcoin, changing her identity, and fleeing to the UK. This criminal was apprehended by UK authorities in 2018. Data from Arkham Intelligence also confirms the discovery of a wallet cluster containing 61,245 BTC related to the case.
The Home Office’s plan to sell Bitcoin is drawing attention from Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, who wants to use the proceeds to relieve budgetary pressures. The Home Office intends to establish a centralized system for managing the storage and liquidation of Bitcoin over the next four years, with a contract worth $53.7 million already put out to tender, though no proposals have yet been received from private entities.
If this plan is executed, the UK would go against the trend of accumulating Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, as seen in countries like the U.S., El Salvador, Bhutan, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan, alongside the wave of cryptocurrency accumulation by major corporations in the West. The U.S. Justice Department currently manages approximately $3.4 billion in seized Bitcoin, which is 80% lower than previous estimates.
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Previously, Germany sold $2.89 billion in Bitcoin in mid-2024 at an average price of around $58,000/BTC. If it had held onto this Bitcoin until now, the value of Germany’s reserve fund could have reached $5.64 billion, thanks to the strong price increase of Bitcoin.
The UK’s move is understandable in the context of Bitcoin’s recent surge in price. Recently, a “whale” holding over 80,000 BTC since 2011 sold all of it, netting $9.6 billion from an initial investment of just $62,400, highlighting the appeal of taking profits in this market.
