- The UK government is reportedly considering selling around $7 billion in seized bitcoin to help plug a budget shortfall
- Reports have suggested Chancellor Rachel Reeves is preparing to liquidate crypto assets imminently
- Critics have rebutted the claims, pointing out that the bitcoin remains under legal dispute and calling it clickbait
A recent story in the British newspaper The Telegraph claimed that the UK is sitting on a �5 billion bitcoin stash that Chancellor Rachel Reeves could liquidate to support public finances. The piece implied that the government is gearing up to sell the assets, seized from a 2018 Chinese investment scam, in order to shore up finances damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, such claims have been doused with cold water by those in the know, who have criticized the article as being clickbait.
No Windfall for Reeves
According to The Telegraph , Britains Labour government could be sitting on a crypto treasure chest of over 61,000 BTC, potentially worth �5 billion ($7 billion). It suggested Reeves has the chance to offload these funds to fill a �20 billion budget hole ahead of her first major financial statement in the autumn. The piece framed the situation as both a political opportunity and a risk, warning that failure to sell at the right time could cost the country dearly if bitcoin prices fall.
However, crypto policy advocates and legal analysts were quick to dismiss the article as overhyped:
As Decentra Suze pointed out, the bitcoins referenced were seized from Jian Wen and associates in a 2018 Chinese fraud case and are still entangled in ongoing restitution claims. Under UK law, the government cannot profit from confiscated assets until all victims have been compensated, a process that could take years. In addition, operational challenges remain: the Home Office has yet to implement a reliable custodial and liquidation framework after cancelling a key �40 million tender earlier this year.
While it is true that the UK government holds a large amount of seized bitcoins, the suggestion that Reeves can simply sell it to balance the books is misleading, with legal, logistical, and moral hurdles all standing in the way. The real story is not of a ready-to-deploy crypto windfall, but of a complex and delayed asset recovery process with no guaranteed outcome, and certainly no immediate fiscal fix.
