How Much Bitcoin Does The UK Government Own?

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The UK has emerged as one of the largest state-level holders of Bitcoin (BTC) in the world, with an estimated tally of 61,243 BTC at the time of writing.

It is understood that most, if not all, of these sovereign Bitcoin holdings have been accumulated as a result of seizures by law enforcement in criminal cases, with one case alone resulting in nearly all of this holding.

In 2021 UK police seized 61,000 BTC during an investigation into a Ponzi and money laundering scheme linked to a Chinese national. Control of the coins was secured under the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002).

At the time the coins were valued at approximately £1.4 billion but a subsequent increase in Bitcoin’s value means the UK Government is sitting on a £5 billion+ BTC goldmine (as of mid-2025).

Would Bitcoin Sale Be Another ‘Brown’s Bottom’?

The surging value of Bitcoin has led the Treasury to consider selling its digital assets to plug a multi-billion-pound financial black hole in public finances in the face of tough economic conditions.

However, critics of this plan have likened it to former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s decision to sell approximately half of the country’s gold reserves – 395 tonnes – between 1999 and 2002 at an average price of $275 per ounce when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer.  

During this period gold prices were the lowest they’d been for 20 years meaning the sale realised just $3.5 billion. Since then until 2024 the price of gold has increase by an average of 8% each year.

Similar concerns have also been levelled at the current Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, despite the price of Bitcoin reaching an all-time high (ATH) this year. Many people predict further substantial increases in the price of the ‘digital gold’, although others are sceptical.

The UK’s current Bitcoin holdings position it near the top of the table of sovereign reserves. The current top five crypto holding countries are:

• United Arab Emirates (UAE) – 420,000 (rumoured)
• United States – 198,000 BTC
• China – 194,000 BTC
• United Kingdon – 61,243
• Ukraine – 46,351 (estimated)

There can only ever be 21 million Bitcoins, and already some 19.9 million have been mined. It’s believed that hundreds of thousands of coins, maybe millions, have been lost due to misplaced wallets, death of owners with no succession plans or other misadventures.

Legal Fight Over Seized Bitcoin Continues

The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service is still seeking High Court approval to enable the Government to definitively keep the coins before any sale could take place.

But many commentators have suggested that those who lost money to the Ponzi scheme should be compensated before the coins are sold off.

Keeping any of the seized crypto has also sparked a debate amongst some over the legitimacy of Bitcoin as an asset class and whether the Government retaining the coins would signal an acceptance that Bitcoin has finally moved into the mainstream.

If the Government were to sell the coins it would mirror a decision by the German government to start selling its holdings back in 2024, which had also been acquired by seizures in criminal cases. Many of these coins have been sold at a significant loss based on today’s prices.

It remains to be seen if fiscal pressures will force the UK Treasury’s hand, or if the Government decides that Bitcoin is an asset worth keeping in the hope of greater long-term gains.