Germany completed the sale of its 50,000 Bitcoin (BTC) holdings on July 12, valued at about $3 billion, according to data analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. The German government began the sale through major exchanges at the end of June, which caused the price of BTC to drop by 15%. However, nearly a dozen other governments are also stockpiling Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Treasuries is a website that tracks Bitcoin holdings, purchases, and sells across public and private companies, exchange-traded funds, smart contracts, and central governments. As of July 15, this platform reports that governments worldwide hold a total of 517,414 BTC, valued at approximately $32 billion at current prices.
According to Bitcoin Treasuries, these estimates are based on Securities and Exchange Commission filings, quarterly reports, and press releases. However, despite owning 2.5% of the global BTC supply, which is capped at 21 million, governments are not heavily invested in cryptocurrency. Here is a list of nine governments holding the largest amount of Bitcoin and what they plan to do with it.
United States
Bitcoin holdings: 213,246 BTC
Estimated value: $13.4 billion
The U.S. holds the biggest amount of Bitcoin of any government, much of which was seized from the dark web marketplace Silk Road after authorities shut it down in 2013. Founded by Ross Ulbricht in 2011, the site became one of the earliest adopters of Bitcoin and facilitated peer-to-peer trading of narcotics and other illegal items. Ulbricht is currently serving a life sentence for running the marketplace. Periodically, the U.S. sells the BTC taken from the website following a court order.
China
Bitcoin holdings: 190,000 BTC
China is believed to have confiscated all of the BTC it is holding from the Plus Token scam in 2019, making it the second largest government holder of the asset. Plus Token, a Ponzi scheme founded in April 2018, mainly targeted investors in China and South Korea and involved cryptocurrency mining. The founders allegedly stole $4 billion in investor funds before law enforcement seized over 190,000 BTC and other cryptocurrencies from the scam operators. It is unclear whether the Chinese government has sold any of the BTC yet.
United Kingdom
Bitcoin holdings: 61,000 BTC
Estimated value: $3.8 billion
In 2021, the UK’s Metropolitan Police seized 61,000 Bitcoin from two Chinese nationals, Jian Wen and Zhimin Qian. At the time, Bitcoin was valued at £1.4 billion. The BTC was linked to a £5 billion investment fraud committed by Qian in China from 2014 to 2017, during which Qian allegedly stole from 128,000 investors. Prosecutors accused Wen, an employee of Qian, of laundering the proceeds by converting the BTC into cash, jewelry, and real estate in the United Kingdom.
Ukraine
Bitcoin holdings: 46,351 BTC
Estimated value: $2.9 billion
Ukraine acquired its Bitcoin through police seizures and donations from individuals supporting the country’s war efforts. In 2023, the country confiscated $1.5 million worth of Bitcoin from Yury Shchigol, the former head of Ukraine’s State Special Communications Service. Other civil servants declared that they owned BTC valued at over $2.7 billion in 2020, although this Bitcoin may not be directly controlled by the Ukrainian government. Since 2022, Ukraine has received more than $225 million in Bitcoin donations.
El Salvador
Bitcoin holdings: 5,800 BTC
Estimated value: $364.2 million
and many more
Countries like China, Venezuela, and Russia have previously placed strict restrictions on the trading of digital currencies, raising the possibility of cryptocurrencies being weaponized for geopolitical hostilities. In some cases, Bitcoin has been completely banned, as in Zimbabwe.
Some observers fear that governments holding BTC might eventually collude to crash Bitcoin markets. Wal, the founder of Uprising Labs, has considered this possibility theoretically.
“Governments could manipulate the price using their large holdings and picking a strategic time to dump their holdings on the market. Selling during periods of market weakness and low liquidity could force a bloodbath,” Wal said.
“Adding regulatory announcements that are negative could also put selling pressure on the token. Such a possibility is backed by previous antecedents of governments and their shared interests in undermining Bitcoin,” he added.
Beyond establishing intelligence task forces to investigate and confiscate BTC, additional measures such as policy safeguards, advisory boards, and extra-territorial platforms are needed to protect crypto markets. Crypto-progressives, like Bundestag representative Joana Cotar in parliament, are a good starting point.
For Wal, establishing international frameworks to manage government-held Bitcoin and prevent market risks could be “positive in the long term.” He says it would “allow for market stability, transparency, regulatory consistency, and the prevention of further market manipulation.”
“This could take the form of a regulatory body composed of representatives from major economies with significant holdings and international organization,” Wal detailed. “However, ultimately, Bitcoin has been designed to be permissionless and would need to be organized at the social level.”