The UK Treasury plans to sell seized bitcoins worth about $7 billion to fill a financial gap

According to reports, the UK's Home Office is working with police to prepare the sale of a batch of seized cryptocurrencies to fill a financial gap. The total amount of cryptocurrency currently seized by the police is unclear, but in 2018, 61,000 bitcoins were seized from a Ponzi scheme during a raid. Last week, the value of bitcoin reached $123,000, bringing its total value to over £5.4 billion (about $7 billion), a 20-fold increase since it was seized. The Home Office also plans to establish a 'cryptocurrency storage and monetization framework' that allows law enforcement to securely store and sell frozen digital currencies. A tender announcement issued by BlueLight Commercial, the police’s procurement company, on behalf of the Home Office, indicates that the UK government will also provide a contract to operate a centralized service responsible for holding and selling the seized cryptocurrencies. This contract is worth up to $53.7 million and is valid for at least four years, but the proposal has not yet received acceptable bids. The time between the police seizing digital assets and liquidating these assets is usually long. The tender announcement acknowledges: 'The average time between asset seizure and the conclusion of legal proceedings (monetization) is less than one year, and for more complex cases, it may take 3 to 4 years.'