Finland eliminates seized bitcoin amid crypto crash

Finland raised $ 47.5 million in the sale of confiscated bitcoins

Last year, the stake was valued at nearly $130 million.

Finland has sold its stock of confiscated bitcoins just as the cryptocurrency market is cooling, picking up less than previously expected.

Customs liquidated 1,889.1 bitcoins through two brokers over the summer, raising 46.5 million euros ($47.5 million), an emailed statement said Thursday. The coins were seized in the form of busts with drugs and were legally confiscated by the state after court decisions. 

The stake was valued at nearly $130 million at the height of the crypto boom last year, but Finland made no attempt to time the market to sell it. The bulk of the virtual currency was confiscated during raids until 2018, and the authorities were in no hurry to decide what to do with them. 

Customs launched a tender in July 2021 for brokers interested in helping to turn digital assets into hard currency, and finally selected the two companies in April to conduct the sale.

While the U.S. government was the first to sell confiscated bitcoins at auction in 2014, other countries have also increasingly sold cryptocurrencies seized in criminal investigations.

Finnish customs still holds 90 bitcoins pending a court decision on confiscation and an undisclosed amount of other cryptocurrencies.