The UK Finance Ministry Plans to Sell Confiscated Bitcoin Worth Approximately $7 Billion to Cover Budget Deficit.
On July 20, the UK Home Office is coordinating with law enforcement to implement a plan to sell a large amount of confiscated cryptocurrency to cover public financial shortfalls, according to sources from the Daily Telegraph. The total amount of cryptocurrency seized by British police is still unclear, but in a raid related to a Ponzi scheme in 2018, authorities confiscated 61,000 Bitcoin. Last week, Bitcoin's price reached $123,000, bringing the total value of that asset batch to over 5.4 billion pounds, equivalent to approximately $7 billion — 20 times its value at the time of seizure.
The UK Home Office plans to establish a "cryptocurrency storage and liquidation framework" to facilitate law enforcement agencies' safe storage of frozen digital assets and conduct auctions when necessary. According to the tender announcement by BlueLight Commercial — a procurement service provider for police — published on behalf of the Home Office, the UK government will sign a contract with an organization responsible for operating a centralized service for holding and selling confiscated cryptocurrencies.
The total contract value could reach $53.7 million with a minimum validity period of 4 years. However, currently, no qualifying tender submissions have been received.
The tender announcement also acknowledges that the time from asset seizure to completing legal procedures for liquidation can be significantly lengthy. Medium processing time is less than a year, but for complex cases, the duration can extend from 3 to 4 years.
