UK working to sell $7B in seized Bitcoin to boost budget: Report

The UK government is preparing to sell over $7 billion worth of seized Bitcoin to help address a widening budget deficit, which Chancellor Rachel Reeves is urgently seeking to plug amid rising inflation, and sluggish economic growth etc. Most of this Bitcoin, approximately 61,000 BTC, was confiscated in a large 2018 operation targeting a Chinese Ponzi scheme linked to fraud and money laundering, and its value has surged from around £300 million at seizure to more than £5 billion today due to Bitcoin’s price rally.

The Home Office is working with police forces to develop a centralized “crypto storage and realization framework” to securely hold and manage the sale of these digital assets.

The Treasury is closely monitoring the process, with proceeds expected to help reduce the UK’s estimated £20 billion budget gap, either by supplementing public funds or supporting law enforcement and victim restitution programs.

This move represents a significant step in how governments handle large-scale digital asset seizures but is not without controversy. Experts caution against a rushed sale due to Bitcoin’s volatile price and potential for further appreciation, drawing parallels to the UK’s historically ill-timed gold sales in 1999 and the U.S. government’s selling of seized Bitcoin at values far below today’s prices. Some political figures, such as Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, have proposed creating a national Bitcoin reserve instead, but these ideas lack government backing.

Overall, the UK’s planned sale of seized Bitcoin signals the growing recognition of cryptocurrency’s material value to public finances, while also prompting debate about the best strategy to maximize returns and fiscal benefits in a challenging economic environment.

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