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Kati Pohjanpalo
Finland has sold its hoard of confiscated Bitcoins just as the market for cryptocurrencies is cooling, raising less than previously anticipated.
The Customs has liquidated 1,889.1 Bitcoins during the summer via two brokers, raising 46.5 million euros ($47.5 million), it said in an emailed statement on Thursday. The coins had been seized in drug busts and had been legally forfeited to the state following court rulings.
While the US government was the first to sell confiscated Bitcoins at an auction in 2014, other countries have also increasingly sold cryptocurrencies seized in criminal investigations.
Proceeds from the sale will be donated to Ukraine as humanitarian aid and rebuilding assistance, the Finnish government decided in May, when it estimated the sale would yield 55 million euros.
The Finnish stake was valued at almost $130 million at the height of the crypto boom last year, but Nordic nation made no attempt to time the market with its sale. The bulk of the virtual currency was confiscated in raids before 2018, and authorities have taken their time deciding what to do with them.
The Customs launched a tender in July 2021 for brokers interested in helping turn the digital assets into hard currency, and finally selected two companies in April to carry out the sale. Authorities particularly sought to ensure the funds would not fall back into criminal hands, and engaged brokers who would comply with anti-money-laundering laws.
Finnish Customs still holds 90 Bitcoins awaiting court ruling of forfeiture, and an undisclosed amount of other cryptocurrencies.
