The UK is reportedly eyeing the sale of over 5 billion British pounds ($6.7 billion) worth of seized Bitcoin. In order to help fill a deficit in the country’s budget. The Home Office and the head of the country’s Treasury, Rachel Reeves, are working with law enforcement to sell off its stockpile of seized Bitcoin (BTC). And are developing a system to securely store the crypto ahead of the planned sell-off.
Such a sale could potentially dent a recently renewed Bitcoin and crypto rally. Police handles crypto sales in the UK, but the Treasury is reportedly involved as the crypto market has rallied. Boosting the value of the government’s holdings.
Crypto Sell-Off Tied to 2018 Chinese Ponzi Scheme
The total amount of seized Bitcoin the country is holding is not known, but it contains at least 61,000 Bitcoin. Currently worth around $7.1 billion, seized from a Chinese Ponzi scheme in 2018 that was being held in the UK.
The idea of the UK selling its Bitcoin was floated earlier this year, with The Daily Mail and The Times reporting in January that Reeves could sell the Bitcoin stash to plug the country’s budget. However, the UK’s plans to sell the Bitcoin could be hung up by the victims of a Chinese Ponzi scheme. Who have been seeking the return of the Bitcoin since 2024.
The UK seized the Bitcoin in 2018 after hospitality worker Jian Wen attempted to launder funds of an investment scheme. Conducted by Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology by trying to buy a mansion with BTC.
Wen was later charged with three counts of money laundering, which she denied, but was found guilty in March last year. And jailed for six years and eight months in May 2024. A group representing the Ponzi scheme’s victims asked China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry in April 2024 to negotiate with the UK to recover the Bitcoin.
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