The Great Bitcoin Windfall: UK’s $7B Crypto Cache Traced to Chinese Scam

The UK government plans to sell at least 61,000 BTC.

The Home Office has announced a tender for the storage and sale of confiscated cryptocurrencies; the contract is valued at $53.7 million.

The proceeds from the sale are expected to be transferred to the Treasury.

UK authorities plan to sell at least 61,000 BTC (about $7 billion at the time of the announcement).

The assets were confiscated after the uncovering of a financial pyramid scheme linked to a Chinese citizen, according to The Telegraph .

In early 2024, British police confiscated 61,000 BTC connected to a large-scale investment fraud in China.

At the same time, the trial of 42-year-old Jian Wen began; he is accused of involvement in laundering funds worth £5 billion.

The proceeds from the sale of the bitcoins are expected to go to the Ministry of Finance, which is facing a budget deficit.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, is closely involved in overseeing the process.

Simultaneously, the government announced a tender for the storage and sale of confiscated crypto-assets.

The contract is valued at £40 million (about $54 million).

However, as The Telegraph notes, no suitable bids have been submitted.

Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage called for the UK to create a national bitcoin reserve, but Labour rejected the idea.

The CEO of asset forfeiture company Asset Reality, Aidan Larkin, said:“We have real oil under our feet when it comes to digital assets linked to illegal activity that can generate hundreds of millions of pounds for the UK every year.”.

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