Washington, United States. Governments are collectively holding hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin worth tens of billions of dollars, acquired through routes ranging from criminal seizures to state-linked mining. The differing approaches are shaping how states manage an asset class many officials still view with suspicion.
United States holdings built through criminal forfeitures
The United States is one of the largest Bitcoin holders, with approximately 200,000 BTC accumulated primarily through criminal forfeitures rather than a deliberate strategic reserve policy.
The total includes an estimated 144,000 Bitcoin seized in the 2013 Silk Road takedown from the dark web marketplace and its operator Ross Ulbricht, and another 94,000 BTC added after the 2022 recovery tied to the 2016 Bitfinex exchange breach. Additional amounts have come from smaller cases involving ransomware prosecutions, fraud investigations, and money laundering takedowns.
According to Arkham Intelligence data, US government Bitcoin wallets represent one of the largest concentrated holdings outside exchanges and early individual adopters. The assets remain in government custody pending auction or, increasingly, pending policy decisions about whether liquidation remains the appropriate approach.
United Kingdom holdings tied to a fraud and money laundering case
The United Kingdom holds roughly 61,000 BTC, according to blockchain records. Much of the holding traces to a 2018 case involving two Chinese nationals linked to a £5 billion investment fraud and money laundering scheme, with seized devices containing access to wallets held by the government as values fluctuated across market cycles.
Seizure-based holdings raise management questions
Seizure-based holdings share the characteristic that governments did not choose to buy Bitcoin as an investment or policy decision. Instead, they acquired it through law enforcement activity and face decisions over whether to convert the assets to cash or hold them.
UAE and Bhutan accumulate Bitcoin through mining
The United Arab Emirates holds an estimated 6,500 BTC sourced primarily through state-linked mining operations rather than seizures. Citadel Mining, which is 85% owned by UAE Royal Group, operates mining facilities that use domestic energy to produce cryptocurrency as part of an industrial policy approach.
Bhutan has pursued a similar strategy through its sovereign wealth fund, Druk Holding & Investments, using abundant hydroelectric power to mine Bitcoin quietly around 2023. The country now holds approximately 6,000 BTC, making it one of the highest per-capita sovereign holders.
In both cases, Bitcoin is presented as an output of energy infrastructure rather than a financial speculation, with mining operations generating revenue regardless of management’s view of cryptocurrency as a long-term store of value.
How do you think governments should decide whether to auction seized Bitcoin or keep it in custody?
