The UK could potentially sell its multi-billion dollar trove of Bitcoin (BTC) to plug holes in its finances, according to accounting giant RSM.
According to blockchain “de-anonymizing” platform Arkham, the UK government holds about $6,270,000,000 worth of Bitcoin, most of it from when it seized coins belonging to convicted money launderer Jian Wen.
Prosecutors say Wen converted Bitcoin into cash and property, though her lawyers allege that someone else was the brains behind the operation.
Now, with holes in the UK’s fiscal situation, the Daily Mail reports that Rachel Reeves, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, has been instructed by insiders to consult with experts on when to sell the BTC to achieve the best deal for the British taxpayer.
Says Chris Etherington, a partner at accounting firm RSM,
“There is a strong case for selling the Bitcoin right away. The currency is too volatile, too speculative.
Rachel Reeves will be looking at it given the political pressure she is under as she waits for the Office For Budget Responsibility forecasts. Germany cashed in last year. Let’s face it – it is a get out of jail free card for her.”
Says lawyer Quentin Hunt,
“It [forfeited crypto-currency] gets paid back into the public purse to the Consolidated Fund, which is where all the monies go to which are effectively seized. That money is managed by the Treasury – so it effectively goes back into the public purse.”
Last year, the German government sold off 50,000 of its BTC under similar circumstances.
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