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Title: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Husires on September 20, 2021, 07:36:50 PM I know it may seem early to make such a list, but I hope it will be filled up quickly in the coming years.
Today we have the first country to announce that it owns Bitcoin. If you have information about other countries, add it below.
Change Log Code: Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Coyster on September 20, 2021, 07:48:05 PM I'm not trying to be pessimistic here, but I think this list will take ages to get filled up, it may even take quite long to add another country to the list, this is not cause Bitcoin is not a great currency/investment option, but just basically cause governments cannot control it, thus they'll definitely be reluctant to take the path that El Salvador has taken, in the past few weeks, some government officials from other countries have openly criticized El Salvador's decision, it just goes to show what the rest of the world thinks about it.
Having said that, I expect Bitcoins rapid growth to continue, with or without governments acceptance/adoption, the thing remains that their level of control over the network remains essentially limited, thus they seek to do so through centralized exchanges and other centralized services crypto users submit their data to before using their service, I do hope that somewhere down the line, governments look beyond their quest for control and accept Bitcoin as a change/good alternative to their monotonous traditional financial system. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: PrivacyG on September 20, 2021, 08:57:46 PM I may be very wrong but I believe Bulgaria and Ukraine own Bitcoin as well, seized Bitcoins to be specific. The United States may also own some seized Bitcoins although I believe they auctioned all or most of it long time ago.
- Regards, PrivacyG Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: bitmover on September 20, 2021, 09:08:35 PM I know it may seem early to make such a list, but I hope it will be filled up quickly in the coming years. Today we have the first country to announce that it owns Bitcoin. If you have information about other countries, add it below. The list is far larger. United states have already seized some bitcoins from criminal activities, which they own now. I think that it is also likely other countries are doing the same: Quote https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/7/30/22600574/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-ethereum-asset-seizure-crimes-bank-storage-password-department-of-justice his week, a small platform for safekeeping cryptocurrency called Anchorage Digital announced it had won a contract from the Department of Justice to store and liquidate digital assets that federal law enforcement seizes following criminal investigations. I also found this link from Investopedia, whcih mentions United States, Bulgaria, Sweden and North Korea as hoarding bitcoin. Quote Bulgaria The Bulgarian government seized more than 200,000 bitcoins from the results of an organized crime crackdown in May 2017, according to reporting by CoinDesk. The sting resulted in the arrest of 23 Bulgarian nationals and the seizure of bitcoin valued at $3.3 billion at the time. As of late November 2017, the Bulgarian government declined to comment on what would happen with the seized digital currency, indicating that there was an ongoing criminal investigation. Sweden The Swedish government made digital currency headlines in the fall of 2017 when it decided to auction off some seized bitcoin as well. The value of the seized assets were significantly smaller than those in the Bulgarian incident, as the Swedish Kronofogden announced plans to sell just 0.6 BTC, worth about $3,200 at the time. United States The United States has also taken part in auctions of bitcoin holdings that were seized in criminal investigations. In late 2015, for instance, the U.S. Marshals Service auctioned more than 44,000 BTC which were seized from Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht. This was the final in a series of auctions for a similar purpose. North Korea While the above governments have publicly auctioned bitcoin holdings that were seized from criminal activity, North Korea's government has shown some signs of actually collecting and hoarding BTC. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: electronicash on September 20, 2021, 09:31:33 PM I know it may seem early to make such a list, but I hope it will be filled up quickly in the coming years. Today we have the first country to announce that it owns Bitcoin. If you have information about other countries, add it below. The list is far larger. United states have already seized some bitcoins from criminal activities, which they own now. I think that it is also likely other countries are doing the same: Quote https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/7/30/22600574/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-ethereum-asset-seizure-crimes-bank-storage-password-department-of-justice his week, a small platform for safekeeping cryptocurrency called Anchorage Digital announced it had won a contract from the Department of Justice to store and liquidate digital assets that federal law enforcement seizes following criminal investigations. I also found this link from Investopedia, whcih mentions United States, Bulgaria, Sweden and North Korea as hoarding bitcoin. Quote Bulgaria The Bulgarian government seized more than 200,000 bitcoins from the results of an organized crime crackdown in May 2017, according to reporting by CoinDesk. The sting resulted in the arrest of 23 Bulgarian nationals and the seizure of bitcoin valued at $3.3 billion at the time. As of late November 2017, the Bulgarian government declined to comment on what would happen with the seized digital currency, indicating that there was an ongoing criminal investigation. Sweden The Swedish government made digital currency headlines in the fall of 2017 when it decided to auction off some seized bitcoin as well. The value of the seized assets were significantly smaller than those in the Bulgarian incident, as the Swedish Kronofogden announced plans to sell just 0.6 BTC, worth about $3,200 at the time. United States The United States has also taken part in auctions of bitcoin holdings that were seized in criminal investigations. In late 2015, for instance, the U.S. Marshals Service auctioned more than 44,000 BTC which were seized from Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht. This was the final in a series of auctions for a similar purpose. North Korea While the above governments have publicly auctioned bitcoin holdings that were seized from criminal activity, North Korea's government has shown some signs of actually collecting and hoarding BTC. these are situations where the government seized BTC. they did not buy it but were taken by force because of criminal activity. it's still assets considered theirs now so yes they own coins. the Chinese government must have seized a lot of coins, it is not however reported though. but i suspect this country has confiscated more BTC. El Salvador will be wealthier if they buy the dip every time, this is like Saylor's strategy. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: hatshepsut93 on September 20, 2021, 11:33:41 PM I may be very wrong but I believe Bulgaria and Ukraine own Bitcoin as well, seized Bitcoins to be specific. The United States may also own some seized Bitcoins although I believe they auctioned all or most of it long time ago. - Regards, PrivacyG There was a rumor that Bulgaria holds 200,000 BTC but it has never been proved. There was also a report how Ukrainian officials hold a lot of BTC, but it's not accurate and exaggerated. A lot of countries hold Bitcoin in a sense that it was seized from criminals, but El Salvador is the first and only country that officially bought Bitcoin. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Kittygalore on September 21, 2021, 09:05:44 AM I think Cbina and USA has their share of bitcoin if my memory serves me right. They did bought a huge amount back then although I can't remember how many it is. El Salvador is doing a good job buying more bitcoin now that the prices are dipping, they will definitely benefit more when the prices starts pumping up again.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: joniboini on September 21, 2021, 12:42:28 PM I never knew China was buying some BTC, considering how they're trying hard to make sure mining and stuff like that stop. Are you sure it was not seized from criminals or illegal miners as mentioned above? If that's true then the hype would be crazy. I don't recall seeing one.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Kakmakr on September 21, 2021, 01:09:43 PM https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/04/irs-has-seized-1point2-billion-worth-of-cryptocurrency-this-year-.html
“In fiscal year 2019, we had about $700,000 worth of crypto seizures. In 2020, it was up to $137 million. And so far in 2021, we’re at $1.2 billion,” Koopman told CNBC. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30. So some countries (governments) have Crypto currencies for a while and then they auction them off for fiat currency. These Crypto currencies are seized from criminal activities, so the money goes back into the government tax covers to fight crime. (Well, we can just hope) Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: add1ct3dd on September 21, 2021, 03:15:41 PM I think Ukraine might be the second to come on this list very soon. I can’t give you reasons why, but I’ve been seeing them on the news lately after El Salvador declared Bitcoin a legal tender. The rate at which people has been talking about this country has been really high, so there is much possibility that there might be the next country that will be considering Bitcoin.
There are also other countries too that people do mention, but this one is what they talk about the most. Although that doesn’t really determine what will happen in the future, because before El Salvador declared Bitcoin a legal assets, people have been talking about this Ukraine and then all of a sudden El Salvador took the chance. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: famososMuertos on September 21, 2021, 04:45:04 PM ...//...: hi, I think you should better fix up the profile of the candidates and not only leave "countries that own bitcoin," because in practical reality there are several that can be owners for various reasons (as mentioned in the previous posts). Legal currency are the keywords here. I am optimistic in thinking the updates of your OP could well be delayed only by presidential terms. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Rikafip on September 21, 2021, 04:52:15 PM The list is far larger. Imho, it doesn't make sense to include those countries on the list of those just because they temporarily own some seized bitcoin as they will sell it off anyway, like they usually do with the seized stuff. For all we know, some of those countries may sold it already.United states have already seized some bitcoins from criminal activities, which they own now. I think that it is also likely other countries are doing the same: I also found this link from Investopedia, whcih mentions United States, Bulgaria, Sweden and North Korea as hoarding bitcoin. But yeah, I think it's way too early for lists like this. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: sana54210 on September 21, 2021, 05:32:01 PM I'm not trying to be pessimistic here, but I think this list will take ages to get filled up, it may even take quite long to add another country to the list, this is not cause Bitcoin is not a great currency/investment option, but just basically cause governments cannot control it, thus they'll definitely be reluctant to take the path that El Salvador has taken, in the past few weeks, some government officials from other countries have openly criticized El Salvador's decision, it just goes to show what the rest of the world thinks about it. It may take a while to add another nation, but even just one is a huge deal. We are talking about a nation that started off with what 250? 350? Something like that and already has close to 1000 on the books (700 we know, but they do not let us know beforehand so I am sure they are working on getting more as we speak right now). It means that even El Salvador alone is a huge deal and following how it will be awesome for them would be great too.Having said that, I expect Bitcoins rapid growth to continue, with or without governments acceptance/adoption, the thing remains that their level of control over the network remains essentially limited, thus they seek to do so through centralized exchanges and other centralized services crypto users submit their data to before using their service, I do hope that somewhere down the line, governments look beyond their quest for control and accept Bitcoin as a change/good alternative to their monotonous traditional financial system. On top of that, even if it takes time, these things do not happen overnight, it will take time to add in 2nd, but from 50th to 51th could be same, after we have 50, the 51th will come in very easily. It means that we just need to wait to grow gradually but eventually it will become better and better. When that happens, we are going to end up with something much more profitable for retail investors. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: examplens on September 21, 2021, 09:11:32 PM I remember that Bulgaria seized a large amount 213,519 of Bitcoin from criminals. It is official, I guess they still hold it.
Bulgarian Government Has Stated That It Owns Some 213,519 Bitcoins – Valued At Approximately 18% Of Its National Debt – That Have Been Seized From A Criminal Network. source: https://www.coininsider.com/bulgarian-government-owns-3-billion-usd-bitcoin/ Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Lucius on September 22, 2021, 10:02:40 AM I remember that Bulgaria seized a large amount 213,519 of Bitcoin from criminals. It is official, I guess they still hold it. That myth of how many BTCs they actually had and whether they still have them has long since been shattered. According to the Bulgarian Finance Minister, the last sale ended in early April 2018 - although it is not known what the exact amount of BTC was. The publication claims that Bulgaria’s finance minister, Vladislav Goranov, told the Prime Minister’s Security Council the sale had taken place, and that the coins were sold piecemeal so as not to crash the market. “Several sovereign wealth funds and Asian investors” purchased the coins for around €15,000 each, with Deloitte acting as a consultant, Bivol references Goranov as revealing. Even more curiously, “experts from the US FBI helped to ensure the safety of transactions,” the last of which occurred April 1, 2018, Goranov is reported to have said. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: NeuroticFish on September 22, 2021, 10:14:59 AM I remember that Bulgaria seized a large amount 213,519 of Bitcoin from criminals. It is official, I guess they still hold it. No, they no longer own that. On the same page, even Romania had some seized crypto for auctioning (https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/sci-tech/gadget/statul-roman-valorifica-in-premiera-monedele-virtuale-bitcoin-si-ethereum-1377677) and at least at start they've been asking way more than the market price; I didn't follow the story and I don't know if it's the same money, but I see some news about crypto being auctioned successfully (https://anabi.just.ro/licitatiionline/auction/219/moneda-virtuala-0-62568551-btc-bitcoin). On the other hand, doesn't US have any seized Bitcoin at all? I guess that they may have some which wasn't auctioned yet... But... I am not convinced that these numbers are worthy for that list, since these coins are supposed to be auctioned pretty fast (sometimes it does happen fast, sometimes not), while El Salvador's bitcoin is there to stay (at least as long as the current president). Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: tyz on September 22, 2021, 11:30:29 AM The question is how to define "to own." Because basically, a lot of countries are in possession of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through their respective law enforcement agencies through seizure. Even the USA. Most of the time, however, they are sold or auctioned off when they are obtained from illegal sources. But in a narrower sense, it means that they are at least temporary owners of these coins.
Maybe you should narrow down the question a bit. For example: Which countries own Bitcoin as government reserves? Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Wind_FURY on September 22, 2021, 11:36:08 AM OP, I believe North Korea also owns hacked/stolen Bitcoin for purposes of censorship-resistance, and for their economic sanctions resistance. The main Bitcoin value proposition. 8)
Add it in your list, but put a question mark, or something indicating it as open to debate, and/or “Shower Thoughts”. Haha. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: OnlineCasinoBoard on September 22, 2021, 01:19:39 PM I know it may seem early to make such a list, but I hope it will be filled up quickly in the coming years. Today we have the first country to announce that it owns Bitcoin. If you have information about other countries, add it below.
Change Log Code: If they had 700 bitcoin, it's enough for them to live like a king for the period if thousand years.And it with a conditions apply.Because we don't know, bitcoin will survive for that much years and can't be sure.Secondly he need to handover the control of bitcoin to next generation. If the handover missed out in any generation. Then everything everything get into soil. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Leviathan.007 on September 22, 2021, 09:03:15 PM The information about who owns bitcoin and which country owns bitcoin can not be exact, ever. That's the point of bitcoin, there is none who knows which country got more bitcoins. For example, China government seems to be a bitcoin hater as a communist government but we can not be sure if they are investing and using bitcoin or not, surely they are, but in multiple small wallets. There is the same story for El Salvador and the other countries, they say we bought bitcoins but this can be just some news released from their government to play with the price and their own economic system.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Shenzou on September 22, 2021, 09:45:56 PM I don't really think there will be any country that is going to be declaring the use of bitcoin as it is main method, any time soon, because they will all be looking at how will affect the economy of elsalvador, and even if they do i don't think that they will be buying any bitcoin just to use it for storing, they will probably let people just use the bitcoin freely.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: molsewid on September 23, 2021, 10:23:41 AM The information about who owns bitcoin and which country owns bitcoin can not be exact, ever. That's the point of bitcoin, there is none who knows which country got more bitcoins. For example, China government seems to be a bitcoin hater as a communist government but we can not be sure if they are investing and using bitcoin or not, surely they are, but in multiple small wallets. There is the same story for El Salvador and the other countries, they say we bought bitcoins but this can be just some news released from their government to play with the price and their own economic system. El Salvador was now quite known owning that huge amount of bitcoin because the government announcing it publicly that's why on the list of OP El Salvador was the only on the list but to be honest we don't really know exactly what other countries owned bitcoin. Reading the thread I was also curious about China which is I guess its impossible for the government to not consider about the huge potential of this digital finance platform also does Japan is one of the country that was open in bitcoin right. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: so98nn on September 23, 2021, 12:02:39 PM This is good initiative and I will try to contribute into this thread as soon as I get to know about the news when a country owns something.
So there is one thing I guess we can do here right now, you list out all the countries in that table for now. As we move forward in the time and get to know whose buying how much you can just rank them according to what they own and how much. I see that seized bitcoin category is already out of the option since by definition the state/government does not own it. The owner is still the one who bought it in first place. Otherwise we will end up having all the countries in the above list because somewhere some country always capturing criminals who use bitcoin. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Oasisman on September 23, 2021, 01:06:05 PM OP should change the title into "Countries that announced and confirmed possession of Bitcoin" because as far as I know, there were several countries who owned Bitcoin but didn't publicize the amount nor it has an official confirmation about their Bitcoin possession.
There might be no other countries that follows what the El Salvador president did. Bitcoin isn't really suitable for daily transactions, people will inevitably keep Bitcoin as a store of value than spending it to essential needs. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: lixer on September 23, 2021, 09:51:19 PM If they had 700 bitcoin, it's enough for them to live like a king for the period if thousand years.And it with a conditions apply.Because we don't know, bitcoin will survive for that much years and can't be sure.Secondly he need to handover the control of bitcoin to next generation. If the handover missed out in any generation. Then everything everything get into soil. I wouldn't be so sure about that part. I mean definitely a good amount, but who could hold it for a thousand years. I also believe that we probably won't see thousand years with the same nations. How many nations are out there with the same exact land they had a thousand years ago?I do believe that they will keep on getting more and more in the end as well, it is just way too common for these type of big investors (even though El Salvador might be considered small nation, they are a big investor) they could totally gather more and more. This is why I believe that we should consider them getting thousands by few years time. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: NeuroticFish on September 25, 2021, 10:59:55 AM In the context of the current drama, I've stumbled over a list that tells that:
* China owns 194,775BTC * US owns 70,124.95BTC * Ontario owns 281.41BTC Source: https://www.kevinrooke.com/bitcoin (coming from https://twitter.com/fillippone1/status/1441702903207579650) Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Lucius on September 25, 2021, 01:31:29 PM @NeuroticFish, It would be more accurate to say that China seized a certain amount of cryptocurrencies, but they were also sold in 2020, at least according to some reports that were made public. So in the context of what happened in El Salvador, all these cases are completely different if we are talking about a government owning something because of investing, in relation to the possession of something as a result of a seizure.
https://i.imgur.com/OmBb0uR.png Source (https://twitter.com/WuBlockchain/status/1332373222650753025) Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: tyz on September 25, 2021, 02:13:49 PM Source: https://www.kevinrooke.com/bitcoin (coming from https://twitter.com/fillippone1/status/1441702903207579650) Thanks for sharing the list. I took a look at it. I would not bet on whether this is still up to date. According to the list, the Chinese government owns about 1% of all Bitcoins through a seizure. The news or the source of it is almost a year old. I doubt if China still owns those Bitcoins. A proof of Bitcoin address holding them would be much more valuable. Similarly with other alleged bitcoin ownership by governments. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: NeuroticFish on September 25, 2021, 03:28:21 PM It would be more accurate to say that China seized a certain amount of cryptocurrencies, but they were also sold in 2020, at least according to some reports that were made public. So in the context of what happened in El Salvador, all these cases are completely different if we are talking about a government owning something because of investing, in relation to the possession of something as a result of a seizure. I already said (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5360967.msg57995588#msg57995588), a few days ago in this very topic that these coins, resulted from seizures are most probably not worthy for the list, since they are supposed to be auctioned (sooner or later). Still, I think that they are of interest, at least to be mentioned (again: in a post, not in the topic). Of course, the fact that those coins are already sold, is another story = it's an update I was not aware of and thank you for that. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Ausgewielt on September 26, 2021, 02:25:55 AM El Salvador only have 700 btc? I think it is not so big for the a country even I ever have a cryptocurrency worth of more than 1 btc when the price of btc was 20k. But it still okay. By the way maybe china has a lot of btc but why the government against Bitcoin?. Actually we don't know if some countries also secretly hoard bitcoin. Who know?.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: jaysabi on September 26, 2021, 02:53:12 AM I know it may seem early to make such a list, but I hope it will be filled up quickly in the coming years. Today we have the first country to announce that it owns Bitcoin. If you have information about other countries, add it below.
Change Log Code: Technically the US currently owns bitcoin too, since coins have been seized as part of investigations into illicit activities. The coins are custodied by law enforcement until they get a court order to sell them. Although it's probably not what you're looking for because they're not bought for treasury purposes, the US government technically owns the coins until they're sold nonetheless. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: davis196 on September 26, 2021, 06:29:50 AM Quote Bulgaria The Bulgarian government seized more than 200,000 bitcoins from the results of an organized crime crackdown in May 2017, according to reporting by CoinDesk. The sting resulted in the arrest of 23 Bulgarian nationals and the seizure of bitcoin valued at $3.3 billion at the time. As of late November 2017, the Bulgarian government declined to comment on what would happen with the seized digital currency, indicating that there was an ongoing criminal investigation. I live in Bulgaria and I have NEVER heard any news about 3.3 billion USD worth of BTC confiscated by the government.I'm talking about the local newspapers,news websites and televisions. If this was real,I guess that it would have been pretty big news and everyone in Bulgaria would know about it,but that's not the case. I assume that this is some made up gossip that has nothing to do with the truth. Maybe some corrupted government officials have stolen the confiscated BTC. ;D Anyway,I don't believe that any other country will follow El Salvador and buy Bitcoins anytime soon. Maybe underdeveloped countries that have weak national currencies like Venezuela and Zimbabwe will buy some BTC in the future. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Lucius on September 26, 2021, 10:22:32 AM I live in Bulgaria and I have NEVER heard any news about 3.3 billion USD worth of BTC confiscated by the government.I'm talking about the local newspapers,news websites and televisions. Well, it didn't happen recently, but at least 5-6 years ago, and then it was pretty big news considering that it was an international police operation. In addition, there are official statements by the Bulgarian Finance Minister from 2018 that the seized cryptocurrencies have been sold and even described how this was done. If you had just read a few posts (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5360967.msg57995536#msg57995536) on this topic some things would have been much clearer to you. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: jakdanyel on September 26, 2021, 10:49:07 AM It is not too early to make a list about this actually. Because some other governments are already thinking of making Bitcoin legal tender. And we can see new moves from them in the near future. And it wouldn't make me surprised if we see Latin American countries mostly. Because they have been the countries that are mostly interested in owning Bitcoin and making it legal tender.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: aysg76 on September 26, 2021, 02:11:15 PM I remember that Bulgaria seized a large amount 213,519 of Bitcoin from criminals. It is official, I guess they still hold it. No, they no longer own that. On the same page, even Romania had some seized crypto for auctioning (https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/sci-tech/gadget/statul-roman-valorifica-in-premiera-monedele-virtuale-bitcoin-si-ethereum-1377677) and at least at start they've been asking way more than the market price; I didn't follow the story and I don't know if it's the same money, but I see some news about crypto being auctioned successfully (https://anabi.just.ro/licitatiionline/auction/219/moneda-virtuala-0-62568551-btc-bitcoin). On the other hand, doesn't US have any seized Bitcoin at all? I guess that they may have some which wasn't auctioned yet... But... I am not convinced that these numbers are worthy for that list, since these coins are supposed to be auctioned pretty fast (sometimes it does happen fast, sometimes not), while El Salvador's bitcoin is there to stay (at least as long as the current president). According to the reports (https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/justice-department-seizes-1-billion-of-bitcoin-tied-to-silk-road-website-11604612072) more than 69000 btc were seized worth billions at that time also and they have auctioned them but who knows the real scene behind it. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: EdenHazard on September 29, 2021, 03:43:11 AM I may be very wrong but I believe Bulgaria and Ukraine own Bitcoin as well, seized Bitcoins to be specific. The United States may also own some seized Bitcoins although I believe they auctioned all or most of it long time ago. - Regards, PrivacyG There was a rumor that Bulgaria holds 200,000 BTC but it has never been proved. There was also a report how Ukrainian officials hold a lot of BTC, but it's not accurate and exaggerated. A lot of countries hold Bitcoin in a sense that it was seized from criminals, but El Salvador is the first and only country that officially bought Bitcoin. i still believe there is a lot of country out there holding bitcoin secretly quietly. the list are indeed should be larger Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Kong Hey Pakboy on September 29, 2021, 06:01:36 AM Are they the only country that have bitcoins? I don't think that they're the only country that have bitcoin. In all this years, how come there's no other country besides El Salvador that owns bitcoin, pretty sure that some countries have some bitcoins in their pockets.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Lucius on September 30, 2021, 10:59:31 AM ~snip~ What you think and what is a fact is completely different things. No country (except El Salvador) has publicly announced that it has bought Bitcoin, and those who may have done so (secretly) have an interest in keeping it a secret. Imagine what would happen if some of the powerful countries of the world announced such news, the price of BTC would skyrocket - which is not good for further investment, nor for the security of that investment. In addition, each country would give full legitimacy to Bitcoin with such public recognition, and each sovereign state protects its national currency in the first place. The world is not an open book where you can know everything you want, you only know what you are allowed to know. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: nullama on September 30, 2021, 11:44:04 AM This site lists some countries that own bitcoin:
https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/treasuries/#countries (https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/treasuries/#countries) It's not completely correct though. For example, this website claims Bulgaria sold all those BTC: https://bitcoinist.com/bulgaria-not-bitcoin-1-6b-finance-minister/ (https://bitcoinist.com/bulgaria-not-bitcoin-1-6b-finance-minister/) Quote According to Bulgarian media outlets, however, no such BTC reserves exist. Specifically, local news publication Bivol wrote in April 2018, the government auctioned off its haul in a low-key affair which involved various international buyers. In the case of Georgia, it's actually individual people, members of parliament, who hold the bitcoins, not the country: source: https://medium.com/@Max_BTC/georgias-members-of-parliament-together-own-66-bitcoins-7238835ec49f (https://medium.com/@Max_BTC/georgias-members-of-parliament-together-own-66-bitcoins-7238835ec49f) By that logic then the US should also be in the list, since US Senator Cynthia Lummis has 5 Bitcoins source: https://cryptoslate.com/us-senator-cynthia-lummis-says-bitcoin-should-be-part-of-retirement-portfolio/ And the Ukraine data is not very reliable. There doesn't seem to be any official statement about it. In the end, El Salvador is probably the only government that actually has Bitcoins, at least openly. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: philipma1957 on September 30, 2021, 11:48:12 AM This site lists some countries that own bitcoin: https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/treasuries/#countries (https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/treasuries/#countries) It's not completely correct though. For example, this website claims Bulgaria sold all those BTC: https://bitcoinist.com/bulgaria-not-bitcoin-1-6b-finance-minister/ (https://bitcoinist.com/bulgaria-not-bitcoin-1-6b-finance-minister/) Quote According to Bulgarian media outlets, however, no such BTC reserves exist. Specifically, local news publication Bivol wrote in April 2018, the government auctioned off its haul in a low-key affair which involved various international buyers. In the case of Georgia, it's actually individual people, members of parliament, who hold the bitcoins, not the country: source: https://medium.com/@Max_BTC/georgias-members-of-parliament-together-own-66-bitcoins-7238835ec49f (https://medium.com/@Max_BTC/georgias-members-of-parliament-together-own-66-bitcoins-7238835ec49f) By that logic then the US should also be in the list, since US Senator Cynthia Lummis has 5 Bitcoins source: https://cryptoslate.com/us-senator-cynthia-lummis-says-bitcoin-should-be-part-of-retirement-portfolio/ And the Ukraine data is not very reliable. There doesn't seem to be any official statement about it. In the end, El Salvador is probably the only government that actually has Bitcoins, at least openly. I think Norway has put some in all of its people's pension funds. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: nullama on September 30, 2021, 11:55:39 AM I think Norway has put some in all of its people's pension funds. The last thing I read about it was a claim they owned Bitcoin because they owned shares in MicroStrategy: source: https://cryptoslate.com/heres-how-the-norwegian-government-now-indirectly-holds-over-570-bitcoin/ (https://cryptoslate.com/heres-how-the-norwegian-government-now-indirectly-holds-over-570-bitcoin/) But I don't think it counts as they don't really hold Bitcoins. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: bitzizzix on September 30, 2021, 01:23:47 PM If there are several countries that have bitcoins and for whatever reason those countries have bitcoins, it looks like there are a lot of countries that have bitcoins but no one can accurately confirm that they still have them or not, and if that is the OP's goal, they definitely fill them.
and the question, which is on the OP's list is only one country namely El Salvador, which is clearly that country has officially legalized bitcoin and has become their currency and everyone knows it even the whole world. and I mean if another country followed in the footsteps of El Salvador listed on the OP I think it would take a very long time to fill it up and also announce the amount of bitcoin it has, citing buying and legalizing it for his country. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: zanezane on September 30, 2021, 01:32:57 PM In the context of the current drama, I've stumbled over a list that tells that: Why is it Ontario and not Canada though? Aren't Ontario part of Canada? Given how big the bitcoin China has, they're definitely up to something banning cryptocurrency transactions and expecting the prices to dip, they're trying to manipulate the market in a blatant way.* China owns 194,775BTC * US owns 70,124.95BTC * Ontario owns 281.41BTC Source: https://www.kevinrooke.com/bitcoin (coming from https://twitter.com/fillippone1/status/1441702903207579650) Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: NeuroticFish on September 30, 2021, 03:05:49 PM Why is it Ontario and not Canada though? Aren't Ontario part of Canada? I don't know. It may be some way the finances are split between regions, but I really don't know. It was like that in the source list. Given how big the bitcoin China has, they're definitely up to something banning cryptocurrency transactions and expecting the prices to dip, they're trying to manipulate the market in a blatant way. As written in another post that money (or a big chunk of it) may have been already sold, since 2020 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5360967.msg58022075#msg58022075). If the Chinese government or party would own Bitcoin for earning, I think that they would publish more good and bad news for manipulating the market. Their current direction seems to be to simply smoother the way for their own CBDC (central bank digital currency) called eCNY. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: fullhdpixel on September 30, 2021, 08:51:20 PM I think Norway has put some in all of its people's pension funds. https://www.forbes.com/sites/billybambrough/2020/09/24/norways-1-trillion-oil-fund-blackrock-and-vanguard-now-indirectly-hold-100-million-in-bitcoin/It is not exactly that Norway bought bitcoin and put it on pension funds. They have an oil fund which comes from all the Oil income they have, unlike some other countries they do not spend it on silly stuff because politicians there are actually smart people and decent people (well could be bad compared to their countrymen if you dislike them as a Norwegian but certainly better than American ones or some other nations politicians). So, instead of spending that money on useless stuff, they are managing it to make it bigger, and the managers of that fund also own money on mictostrategy which means that indirectly Norwegian Oil does own some bitcoins from that investment. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: ndgo on September 30, 2021, 09:16:08 PM I really appreciate that when Bulgaria seized the bitcoin that they chose to hold it during the ongoing criminal investigation. As if the entire bitcoin ledger isn't publicly available.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: LUCKMCFLY on October 04, 2021, 03:39:24 AM Perhaps now after El Salvador, Latin American countries will follow him, in fact Paraguay, Mexico, Panama and even Venezuela are studying adopting it. I think the reason why they manage to adopt it is because their economies tend to be more unstable than in the US and Europe.
Quote Among these are other Central and South American countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Nicaragua, all of which have either voiced support for El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin or have politicians and populations that are broadly supportive of cryptocurrency technology. Source: https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/952102/bitcoin-adoption-which-countries-could-follow-el-salvador-952102.html (https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/952102/bitcoin-adoption-which-countries-could-follow-el-salvador-952102.html)I think that one of the countries in Europe that can adopt BTC the fastest can be France and Spain, of course I imagine that they will put some regulations to do so. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Lucius on October 04, 2021, 11:04:38 AM Perhaps now after El Salvador, Latin American countries will follow him, in fact Paraguay, Mexico, Panama and even Venezuela are studying adopting it. I think the reason why they manage to adopt it is because their economies tend to be more unstable than in the US and Europe. One very important difference between El Salvador and all the other countries of Central and South America should be emphasized, and that is the political leadership that in El Salvador was fully in agreement on legalizing Bitcoin as a legal tender, as opposed to all other countries where we talk about a few politicians who do not have the power to do something concrete. Also a very important fact, El Salvador has not had its national currency for 20 years, all other countries have (except Panama and Ecuador - US dollar). I think that one of the countries in Europe that can adopt BTC the fastest can be France and Spain, of course I imagine that they will put some regulations to do so. As a legal tender? Well, both countries you mention are part of the European Union and the Eurozone, and they can't just declare Bitcoin as a legal tender without deciding on it at the highest instances of the EU. Besides, if you had read the article to the end, you would have seen that Malta is mentioned as a candidate - but with a very clear observation. Quote Meanwhile, away from the Americas, the European island nation of Malta is also considered a candidate due to its booming tech sector, although any moves to adopt Bitcoin could potentially draw ire from its fellow EU member states and the Brussels establishment. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Kong Hey Pakboy on October 04, 2021, 11:55:27 AM ~snip~ What you think and what is a fact is completely different things. No country (except El Salvador) has publicly announced that it has bought Bitcoin, and those who may have done so (secretly) have an interest in keeping it a secret. Imagine what would happen if some of the powerful countries of the world announced such news, the price of BTC would skyrocket - which is not good for further investment, nor for the security of that investment. In addition, each country would give full legitimacy to Bitcoin with such public recognition, and each sovereign state protects its national currency in the first place. The world is not an open book where you can know everything you want, you only know what you are allowed to know. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Lucius on October 04, 2021, 12:39:36 PM But wasn't there a list back then about who is owning the most bitcoin and I saw China in there so that can only mean that they're also a country that has bitcoin in their possession plus if we know the amount, that can only mean that it's a public knowledge thus it's acknowledged. You, like many others, do not read other people's posts or read them, but for some reason, you do not understand what is written in them. It is sad that I have to repeat things over and over again and still have someone claim that Bulgaria or China own Bitcoin. Please start reading with understanding, if some country seized BTC and sold it, then it has nothing to do with what El Salvador did. This is a post in this thread, are some things clearer to you now? https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5360967.msg58022075#msg58022075 Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: verita1 on October 09, 2021, 11:40:50 PM From my point of view, El Salvador has been transparent in pointing out its holding of bitcoin. Which means that within Bukele's mandate, the nation's bitcoin should be well managed. Now, what will happen to the bitcoin of El Salvador? when Bukele leaves power. The next president should continue the good management, he would have to do an exceptional job and not lose the great effort that the Bukele presidency has achieved.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Rufsilf on October 16, 2021, 05:21:51 AM I remember that Bulgaria seized a large amount 213,519 of Bitcoin from criminals. It is official, I guess they still hold it. Bulgarian Government Has Stated That It Owns Some 213,519 Bitcoins – Valued At Approximately 18% Of Its National Debt – That Have Been Seized From A Criminal Network. source: https://www.coininsider.com/bulgarian-government-owns-3-billion-usd-bitcoin/ Yes it's true that the Bulgarian Governemnt seized a large amount of bitcoins from criminals but I don't think that they're still holding that amount up to now because if I'm not mistaken they already sold it on the auction few years ago. While El Salvador is the first country to make bitcoin a legal tender officialy, still there's a long path to maintain that statement because their president isn't gonna be long on the throne. Also, there are some countries who already owns bitcoin like China, USA and Russia but they didn't state it publicly because they can't afford that the people will know where that funds goes to. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: henmark on October 18, 2021, 09:24:20 PM What about countries that seized bitcoins from people, should we also count them as countries that owns bitcoins? Just asking this because I know of a few countries that are hoarding bitcoins they seized in one or the other. Although the case of El Salvador may be something different because their government actually invested money in bitcoin, and not by confiscating it. Other countries that possibly might be holding bitcoin by now are United States, North Korea, Bulgaria, and Sweden. These countries were once in possession of bitcoin, but I can’t tell if they are still holding these coins or not.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: GbitG on October 18, 2021, 09:41:06 PM What about countries that seized bitcoins from people, should we also count them as countries that owns bitcoins? Just asking this because I know of a few countries that are hoarding bitcoins they seized in one or the other. Although the case of El Salvador may be something different because their government actually invested money in bitcoin, and not by confiscating it. Other countries that possibly might be holding bitcoin by now are United States, North Korea, Bulgaria, and Sweden. These countries were once in possession of bitcoin, but I can’t tell if they are still holding these coins or not. Now this list is going very long even too many countries officially not accepting and in few countries having ban but their officials holding some good number of bitcoins because they understand all about this and saving their money with this way but still bringing some policies which are not good for their peoples as they also want to use bitcoin. Recently we have some good views about this from developing countries, hopefully they will also jump into this with some better and positive policies they need to have this in reserve as well because this is also can work for them as they are having with Gold. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: The Sceptical Chymist on October 19, 2021, 05:11:51 AM I may be very wrong but I believe Bulgaria and Ukraine own Bitcoin as well, seized Bitcoins to be specific. The United States may also own some seized Bitcoins although I believe they auctioned all or most of it long time ago. Yeah, the Silk Road stash--and who knows how much bitcoin they've seized from other criminal cases that haven't been front page news? Law enforcement seizes money all the time from drug dealers, and if I had to guess I'd say it's likely that various LE agencies in the US have control of crypto wallets they've acquired from illegal activities.But that's much different than what OP is talking about. El Salvador actually invested in bitcoin (or at least bought it for a specific purpose, which I think was to fund ATMs in part), and they were the first country to do something like that as far as I know. You, like many others, do not read other people's posts or read them, but for some reason, you do not understand what is written in them. It is sad that I have to repeat things over and over again and still have someone claim that Bulgaria or China own Bitcoin. Please start reading with understanding, if some country seized BTC and sold it, then it has nothing to do with what El Salvador did. I'm rolling my eyes at that post as well, and I apologize for repeating what you wrote about El Salvador's situation being different than bitcoin seizure. Just put that idiot on ignore, because he has a habit of writing incoherent nonsense.It'd be really cool if countries started buying up bitcoin, but I wouldn't really want my government spending taxpayer dollars on a significant amount of it unless they had a very good reason for doing so--and my opinion is based solely on bitcoin's volatility. MicroStrategy might be iconoclastic by snapping up btc for its treasury, but they're taking a huge risk that could backfire. None of us want it to, but if you've been into bitcoin for a few years, you know the price swings and prolonged bear markets can be morale-crushing to some. If it were to seriously tank, that would be a massive hit to MSTR's balance sheet, and if we're talking about a government, they'd be losing their taxpayer's money (though even 700BTC is a fairly small amount relative to a decent-sized country's economy). Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: mamahdedeh on October 19, 2021, 06:54:56 AM What about countries that seized bitcoins from people, should we also count them as countries that owns bitcoins? Just asking this because I know of a few countries that are hoarding bitcoins they seized in one or the other. Although the case of El Salvador may be something different because their government actually invested money in bitcoin, and not by confiscating it. Other countries that possibly might be holding bitcoin by now are United States, North Korea, Bulgaria, and Sweden. These countries were once in possession of bitcoin, but I can’t tell if they are still holding these coins or not. countries that have not legalized bitcoin I don't think they will publicly announce that they hold bitcoin, because it will have a wide impact on their people. this is different from elsalvador which has officially legalized it so there is no problem if the state treasury is announced in the form of bitcoin Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Zanab247 on October 19, 2021, 07:39:56 AM I guess Russian and USA should be in the list among the countries that own bitcoin because those two countries has raised many bitcoin professional investors in the community. They are good in investing on long term and short term investment over some years now which they have achieved so much from bitcoin investment than any other countries in the world. Government make bitcoin legalized in the country that is giving their citizens to have free access to bitcoin investment in the community, to use it positively in all their businesses in the country. Many of their investors are still buying bitcoin to hold for future profit making based on what some researchers has said about massive pumping of bitcoin that is about to start before the end of this year 2021.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: jaberwock on October 19, 2021, 08:41:19 PM I guess Russian and USA should be in the list among the countries that own bitcoin because those two countries has raised many bitcoin professional investors in the community. They are good in investing on long term and short term investment over some years now which they have achieved so much from bitcoin investment than any other countries in the world. Government make bitcoin legalized in the country that is giving their citizens to have free access to bitcoin investment in the community, to use it positively in all their businesses in the country. Many of their investors are still buying bitcoin to hold for future profit making based on what some researchers has said about massive pumping of bitcoin that is about to start before the end of this year 2021. It is not about the people who are in the nations that are making bitcoin investments, it is about the government itself buying bitcoin because that is the important part. Right now, there are some north European countries that have some stocks in some companies that have crypto investments, but that is about it honestly right now. The reality is that we only have El Salvador as the "government buys bitcoin" and nothing else has happened like that. I believe it will happen in the future but right now it has not happened. The super wealthy people that end up investing into crypto doesn't matter since that would be nearly every single nation, we have those type of people from every nation. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: AmoreJaz on October 19, 2021, 08:50:19 PM I guess Russian and USA should be in the list among the countries that own bitcoin because those two countries has raised many bitcoin professional investors in the community. They are good in investing on long term and short term investment over some years now which they have achieved so much from bitcoin investment than any other countries in the world. Government make bitcoin legalized in the country that is giving their citizens to have free access to bitcoin investment in the community, to use it positively in all their businesses in the country. Many of their investors are still buying bitcoin to hold for future profit making based on what some researchers has said about massive pumping of bitcoin that is about to start before the end of this year 2021. It is not about the people who are in the nations that are making bitcoin investments, it is about the government itself buying bitcoin because that is the important part. Right now, there are some north European countries that have some stocks in some companies that have crypto investments, but that is about it honestly right now. The reality is that we only have El Salvador as the "government buys bitcoin" and nothing else has happened like that. I believe it will happen in the future but right now it has not happened. The super wealthy people that end up investing into crypto doesn't matter since that would be nearly every single nation, we have those type of people from every nation. also, i don't think some of these countries who already owned bitcoin will disclose their holdings to the public. i believe, we have more than El Salvador who is buying btc for their stash. and this is the reason why the OP has only El Salvador in his list so far. do you think these countries will publicly announce their crypto holdings? right now, i don't think so. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: wiss19 on October 20, 2021, 05:02:30 AM also, i don't think some of these countries who already owned bitcoin will disclose their holdings to the public. i believe, we have more than El Salvador who is buying btc for their stash. and this is the reason why the OP has only El Salvador in his list so far. do you think these countries will publicly announce their crypto holdings? right now, i don't think so. Right now, it's not possible for many countries to announce about this but as we have few countries openly announces and doing some soft policies about bitcoin and crypto hopefully in near future we will have some good news about this and many countries openly able to have bitcoin in reserve like Gold.Future is bright and good for this as now mass adoption is doing very good and many big technology related companies and countries are had better ideas few months back I read few eastern European countries also having bitcoin in their reserves, but they also never disclose openly about this but hopefully this all will happen. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: Coin-1 on October 20, 2021, 06:57:27 AM also, i don't think some of these countries who already owned bitcoin will disclose their holdings to the public. i believe, we have more than El Salvador who is buying btc for their stash. and this is the reason why the OP has only El Salvador in his list so far. do you think these countries will publicly announce their crypto holdings? right now, i don't think so. Right now, it's not possible for many countries to announce about this but as we have few countries openly announces and doing some soft policies about bitcoin and crypto hopefully in near future we will have some good news about this and many countries openly able to have bitcoin in reserve like Gold.I'm almost sure the governments of different countries have a lot of bitcoins in reserve. I mean, central banks have private keys of many addresses filled with BTC coins to overflowing. Law enforcement representatives are obliged to publish only the amount of coins seized from criminals. Typically, this number is not huge, so my guess is that governments additionally buy BTC coins on cryptocurrency exchanges or OTC markets using the accounts of individuals they trust. To be honest, I doubt governments will ever openly disclose the true amount of coins they own due to the pseudo-anonymous nature of Bitcoin. I envision that these funds will be treated as an emergency reserve that can be spend to securely transfer funds during hard times. @OP, This is a good initiative to build a list of countries that own Bitcoin. Perhaps not only El Salvador will soon announce its investment in cryptocurrencies. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: hannahB4 on October 20, 2021, 10:41:09 AM I tried opening the source but as we have in my country now, Twitter has been banned which made me not have access to the information but for me, I will add the United States to the list of the countries that own Bitcoin.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: FanEagle on October 21, 2021, 07:15:10 PM The list will grow to a super high level eventually, but it will not be overnight, it will not be like suddenly we will have 10 nations. Let's wait and see how it is reflected on El Salvador, I wonder how that will happen. I get that it is good right now, we have seen the increase from 40k something's when they first bought versus 60k+ right now and "nearly" broke ATH price (might even broken it by the time you read this) and that's why I believe that we are getting good returns for El Salvador citizens right now.
However, it needs to be a lot more for other nations to do the same. Micheal Saylor actually had this kind of advice to Turkey I believe, can't remember the nation, which was like "buy 5 billion dollars worth bitcoin now and put it in your treasury, it will be 50 billion dollars worth in under 10 years" or something like that, which is a great advice for every nation. Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: perryxi2 on October 26, 2021, 05:19:20 PM We have to think that basically governments can't control it, so they will certainly be reluctant to follow the path that El Salvador has taken, in the last few weeks several government officials from other countries Others have openly criticized El Salvador's decision. So the adoption of bitcoin by El salvador has increased demand for the cryptocurrency under this new law, bitcoin will now be legal tender in all transactions. finance and this makes El Salvador one of the leading countries in bitcoin ownership and the spread of bitcoin is quite strong.
Title: Re: [LIST] Countries that own bitcoin Post by: beerlover on October 26, 2021, 05:35:55 PM I am eagerly awaiting for the second entry by OP into the list.
I believe some country must be accumulating as much as bitcoins they prefer but the only thing is they need to declare it. We can expect such declarations in very near future as accumulating bitcoins does not need to be having plans to be used as a legal tender. But, might have plans to be having as part of their central banks' reserve along with gold. Yeah in my opinion, bitcoin is going to achieve such kind of milestone any time soon which must be a greater thing to have for all the bitcoiners for sure. |
