Governments with $32 Billion. Data analytics firm Arkham Intelligence reports that on July 12, Germany sold off its 50,000 Bitcoin (BTC) assets worth almost $3 billion. At the tail end of June, the German government started selling through major exchanges, which led to a 15% decline in the price of Bitcoin. Nevertheless, roughly twelve additional governments are hoarding Bitcoin.
Central governments, exchange-traded funds, private corporations, and smart contracts can all have their Bitcoin holdings, purchases, and sales monitored on Bitcoin Treasuries. According to this portal, as of July 15, governments worldwide had 517,414 BTC, worth almost $32 billion at the current pricing.
These estimates are derived from press announcements, quarterly reports, and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as stated by Bitcoin Treasuries. Governments are not invested in Bitcoin, even if they hold 2.5% of the world supply (a maximum of 21 million). The nine governments with the biggest Bitcoin holdings and their intentions with the cryptocurrency are detailed below.
United States
Bitcoin holdings: 213,246 BTC
Estimated value: $13.4 billion
Much of the United States Bitcoin came from the Silk Road dark web marketplace, which was shut down by police in 2013. The website Ross Ulbricht co-founded in 2011 was an early user of Bitcoin and enabled the P2P trade of illicit goods. As a result of his role in the marketplace, Ulbricht is now serving a life sentence. In response to court orders, the United States periodically sells the Bitcoins seized from the website.
China
Bitcoin holdings: 190,000 BTC
Estimated value: $11.9 billion
According to popular belief, China became the second largest government holder of Bitcoin in 2019 after seizing its holdings from the Plus Token scam. The Plus Token Ponzi scheme, which began operations in April 2018 and involved cryptocurrency mining, was primarily targeted at those in the Chinese and South Korean markets. Authorities seized around 199,000 bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies from the founders after charges that they embezzled $4 billion from investors. The Chinese government may or may not have sold Bitcoins at this point.
United Kingdom
Bitcoin holdings: 61,000 BTC
Estimated value: $3.8 billion
The Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom apprehended two Chinese nationals, Jian Wen and Zhimin Qian, in 2021 and confiscated 61,000 Bitcoin. While in circulation, Bitcoin was £1.4 billion. Bitcoin was associated with a £5 billion investment scam that Qian allegedly ran in China from 2014 to 2017, taking money from 128,000 investors. Wen, a Qian employee, was accused by prosecutors of laundering the funds by exchanging Bitcoin for cash, jewelry, and UK real estate.
Ukraine
Bitcoin holdings: 46,351 BTC
Estimated value: $2.9 billion
The country’s Bitcoin was sourced from donations from individuals who supported Ukraine’s war efforts and confiscations by the police. In 2023, Yury Shchigol, a former chief of Ukraine’s State Special Communications Service, had $1.5 million worth of Bitcoin stolen from him. In 2020, other government employees claimed ownership of Bitcoin worth more than $2.7 billion. However, the Ukrainian government might not have actual control over these Bitcoins. Donations of over $225 million in Bitcoin have been received by the Ukrainian government since 2022.
El Salvador
Bitcoin holdings: 5,800 BTC
Estimated value: $364.2 million
It wasn’t until 2021 that El Salvador, a Central American nation, officially recognized Bitcoin as money. The president, Nayib Bukele, is a Bitcoin supporter and promoter and has ambitions to construct a Bitcoin city. El Salvador has been buying one Bitcoin daily on the open market and has used the energy from its volcano to mine the “digital gold” since then, amassing over 5,800 BTC. After Germany’s sharp sell-off, experts expect other countries to adopt Bitcoin as a reserve asset, protecting cryptocurrency markets.
Bhutan
Bitcoin holdings: 621 BTC
Estimated value: $39 million
The South Asian monarchy of Bhutan has been a major Bitcoin miner for several years. Between 2021 and 2023, the monarchy allegedly spent $540 million on Bitcoin mining. The state-run Druk Holding & Investments used loans from the Royal Monetary Authority to fund this investment, which amounted to 21% of Bhutan’s GDP. Bloomberg reports that Bhutan is building a 600-megawatt Bitcoin mining facility with Singaporean business Bitdeer Technologies.
Venezuela
Bitcoin holdings: 240 BTC
Estimated value: $15.1 million
After their cryptocurrency, the Petro, failed miserably, Venezuela started trading it for Bitcoin. Supposedly launched in February 2018, the digital currency was meant to underpin the bolívar currency and was supposedly guaranteed by the nation’s oil reserves. The government had difficulty integrating Petro with public services like paychecks or paying for a new passport, and the cryptocurrency encountered criticism from local opposition lawmakers. According to recent sources, Venezuela stopped producing the Petro in January.
Finland
Bitcoin holdings: 90 BTC
Estimated value: $5.7 million
At one point, Finnish Customs had as much as 1,980 Bitcoin in their possession. This amount stemmed mostly from a large-scale drug bust in 2016 when 1,666 BTC were seized. Cryptocurrency companies based in Finland have sold several of these Bitcoins, such as Coinmotion and Tesseract. The nation reportedly gave Ukraine $50 million from these trades to support its war against Russia.
Georgia
Bitcoin holdings: 66 BTC
Estimated value: $4.1 million
How Georgia got its hands on Bitcoin remained a mystery. The little European country probably got its hands on Bitcoin, though, much like other nations that have gotten theirs through seizures by law enforcement.
Could Governments Collude to Crash Bitcoin?
It is important to note that most governments holding BTC have historically opposed cryptocurrency. Going into 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was repeatedly taken to court before it approved Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds.
World governments have not favored Bitcoin due to its role in money laundering, sanction evasion, and billion-dollar heists. Officials don’t like BTC’s claims of disrupting, decentralizing, and democratizing finance. Germany’s recent sell-off shows that powerful governments hold $32 billion worth of Bitcoin, which they may view as crime-related money to be liquidated rather than a strategic asset.
Eric Vander Wal, a software engineer and CEO of Canada-based web3 platform Uprising Labs, explained the sell-off’s negative ramifications. “Dumping a large amount of BTC on the market could be seen as a way to manipulate the market,” he said.
“Significant price swings are net negatives that can drive market tourists and investors away. They also create short-term pressure on the token price, driving investors to sell their holdings as market sentiment turns negative,” Wal added.
China, Venezuela, and Russia have restricted cryptocurrency trading, boosting the prospect of geopolitical warfare using cryptocurrencies. In some cases, Bitcoin has been completely banned, as in Zimbabwe.
Some observers fear governments holding BTC might eventually collude to crash Bitcoin markets. However, Wal, the founder of Uprising Labs, has considered this possibility theoretically. “Governments could manipulate the price using their large holdings and pick a strategic time to dump them on the market. Selling during periods of market weakness and low liquidity could force a bloodbath,” Wal said.
“Adding negative negative regulatory announcements 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.
Final Thoughts
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.”
