Industry Association Cryptouk has urged the UK government to take a “long-term view.” Bitcoinafter reports that the UK’s Home Office is working with police to sell just $7.2 billion (£5.333 billion) in confiscated BTC.
British newspapers Daily telegraph Over the weekend, UK Secretary of State Rachel Reeves reported that he was investigating the sale of the government’s BTC holdings as a way to reinforce the finances.
However, Cryptouk warns against such movements, and the body spokesman Decryption Plans to do so will be “opposed” to Reeves’ recent moves to drive growth in the UK’s crypto and fintech sector.
“We urge the government to take a long-term view on crypto retention and deeply consider the messages that send these digital assets to the UK crypto industry,” the spokesman said.
Reeves himself argues that there is a $29.7 billion (£22 billion) “black hole” in the UK’s finances based on the difference between government spending and government revenue.
The $7.2 billion held by the UK government in the now confiscated BTC will go in some way to close this gap, but Cryptouk suggests it may be wiser to follow the recent examples set by other states.
“Other jurisdictions now hold Bitcoin reserves, and Bitcoin finances are becoming increasingly popular with businesses,” the spokesperson said.
Bitcoin is reserved all over the world
In the US, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March to create a national crypto stockpile based on seized digital assets, but various moves have been made to strategic Bitcoin reserves in Bhutan, Pakistan, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
In the UK, right-wing reform party leader Nigel Farage declared that his party would require the Bank of England to establish a Bitcoin Reserve in the case of a reform-led government.
The current UK government previously poured cold water into the idea of the National Bitcoin Reserve, but plans discussed by the Home Office (UK Home Office) include the establishment of an official storage system. Cryptocurrency.
The system handles the sale of Bitcoin (or other government-holding tokens), but it is currently unclear how much revenue will be sent to the HM Treasury.
There is also the issue that the UK government’s Bitcoin holdings have almost completely occurred since the 2021 seizure of over 61,000 BTC.
The victims of the fraud asked Chinese authorities to make diplomatic efforts to bring Bitcoin back to them, raising questions about whether the UK government could legally sell its holdings.
