The government of a country may have Bitcoin as a reserve asset. Governments worldwide own an estimated 569,070 Bitcoins, which amounts to 2.69% of the total supply. In 2021, El Salvador became the first country to make BTC a legal tender and mandated all local businesses to accept payments in BTC. According to the experts, the lesser developed countries could use Bitcoin ownership as a strong driver to establish a vibrant ecosystem and create infrastructural solutions to facilitate the integration of cryptocurrencies into the real economy.
Bitcoin ownership by countries can promote wider crypto distribution and reduce crypto concentration, thus fostering a more democratic ownership pattern. In this report by Coinpedia, we have compiled a list of top countries holding Bitcoin in 2024. Let us see who holds the most of it!
How do Governments Acquire Bitcoin?
A recent report showed that 2.69% of the total BTC is owned by governments. So, how do governments possess Bitcoin? Well, it can be done by seizing it from citizens as a legal consequence for a criminal activity. The governments intend to keep the information private about how much BTC they own and how they plan to use it!
Top Countries holding BTC in 2024
The list below reveals the top governments with the highest Bitcoin ownership:
According to Bitcoin Treasuries, the US has accumulated approximately 215,000 BTC which is $8.3 billion in value. Most of this collection is through law enforcement seizures since 2020. US bitcoin assets have been on the rise as the country enforces asset confiscation from individuals.
China’s Bitcoin holding amounts to 190,000 BTC. It was acquired after seized funds from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme were transferred to the government. The total value of the Bitcoin holdings is about $12,621.55 million by the Chinese government.
The UK has been on top when it comes to holding and trading Bitcoin. The UK government currently has about 61,000 BTC valued at $4 billion presently. It was confiscated from Jian Wen and Zhimin Qian.
The German government is fourth on the list with a Bitcoin accumulation of 50,000 BTC. The tokens worth $2.17 billion were confiscated by the German Police in 2018, making it the largest cryptocurrency seizure ever. The fraud was led by two men, aged 40 and 37, who were booked for running a piracy website until the end of 2013.
The Ukrainian government holds 46,351 BTC currently. The authorities seized $1.5 million worth of crypto assets from Yury Shchigol, a former government official.
El Salvador has 5,690 BTC in its treasury. El Salvador first started buying BTC in September 2021 and as of February 2024, El Salvador’s Bitcoin holdings are worth more than $397 million, indicating a profit of more than 40%. The president, Nayib Bukele also saw that the country’s main source of additional bitcoin was a program run by his government that offers expedited citizenship to interested immigrants who make a BTC “donation” to the government of the country.
Bhutan holds 621 BTC worth $24.61 million. Forbes states that the kingdom began mining BTC in April 2019 when Bitcoin was valued at $5,000. Since then, Bitcoin skyrocketed!
The Venezuelan government holds 240 BTC with 10.30% of the population owning crypto.
Finland has 90 BTC as of today. The country confiscated 1,889 Bitcoins in 2018 seized in narcotics cases. Then it sold 1889 BTC in 2021 earning roughly $48 million.
The government of Georgia has 66 BTC worth $4,234,672 according to Bitcointreasuries.net.
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