According to reports from The Telegraph, to fill a budget gap of £20 billion (about $26.8 billion), Chancellor Rachel Reeves is said to be considering selling government-seized Bitcoins, with the sale amount possibly exceeding £5 billion (about $7.1 billion). The news has sparked widespread discussion in the market and has inevitably led to comparisons with the 1999 decision by then-Chancellor Gordon Brown to sell more than half of the gold reserves at a low price.
Although the UK government has not publicly disclosed its cryptocurrency holdings, it is believed to include at least 61,000 Bitcoins, which are assets flowing from China's Ponzi scheme cases to the UK. In 2024, a woman involved in the case was sentenced to over 6 years for assisting in laundering 150 Bitcoins.
Although some victims have requested the return of their assets, the Crown Prosecution Service has applied to the High Court hoping to directly allocate the confiscated cryptocurrency assets as treasury income. This potential sale has become an official option on the table for the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.
(The Telegraph) pointed out that, facing enormous deficit pressure, Rachel Reeves is actively seeking various possible sources of revenue, and this 'windfall' has undoubtedly become one of the options.
Rachel Reeves stated in April this year that the UK Treasury will work with the US to develop a more comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry. She emphasized at the time: 'Strict regulations related to cryptocurrencies will strengthen investor confidence, support the development of fintech, and protect the British public.'
In addition, the UK government has already quietly begun laying out plans. The Home Office commissioned the police procurement agency BlueLight Commercial in May this year to publicly release a tender worth up to $53.7 million, seeking professional organizations to assist in the custody and disposal of the cryptocurrency seized by the UK government. The tender period is at least 4 years, but according to The Telegraph, it has yet to attract expected effective bids.
However, to truly realize the value of these Bitcoin assets, the required time may be far longer than expected. According to the UK government's tender documents, from the time cryptocurrencies are seized by the police until the judicial process is finalized and formally approved for sale, it takes an average of about 1 year; if the case is more complicated, it could extend to 3 to 4 years.
Many market participants quickly associate this with whether it will replicate the 'gold sale incident' that occurred during Gordon Brown's tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Between 1999 and 2002, Gordon Brown sold 395 tons of gold reserves (about 60% of the total reserves) at an average price of $275 per ounce, only to see the gold price soar to the current $3,350, becoming an eternal sigh in the hearts of the British public, and still criticized in political and economic circles. 'Brown Bottom' has even become a classic cautionary tale in financial history.
Now, will history repeat itself? After all, gold and Bitcoin are ultimately two completely different assets, making comparison difficult. In the past five years, Bitcoin has risen over 1,000%, and in the past year alone, it has increased by 75%. If Gordon Brown sold gold at a 'generational low point' back then, perhaps what the UK government faces now is the historical peak of Bitcoin.
But the question is— is this really the peak?
Looking back years later, was this actually a 'low point mistaken for a high point'?
This article is reproduced with permission from: (Block Guest)
Original Title: (Back then, 'selling gold too early' became a laughingstock! Now the UK wants to 'sell Bitcoin', will it make the same mistake again?)
Original Author: Block Girl MEL
This article 'On (7/22), selling gold too early became a laughingstock! Now the UK wants to sell Bitcoin, will it make the same mistake again' was first published in 'Crypto City'
