Government can seize company reserve Bitcoin?

[adzino]

About the recent trend on Bitcoin which some companies started to buy Bitcoins and make it as the company's reserve. Recent was the Square company.

So my purpose of this thread is to talk about the companies that have Bitcoin as company reserve.

Is the government can seize or they have the right for those Bitcoins they bought? If ever there will be some serious violations on the low for any companies that owns Bitcoin as company reserve?


Here, we can see some of the companies that already owned Bitcoin : Bitcoin Treasuries in Publicly Traded Companies

Yes, as far as I am aware, the government can seize your bitcoins! I remember few weeks ago I read somewhere that the government seized bitcoin worth around millions from a group (a charity organization or something like that) that were financing terrorists. Not sure, how they seize the coins (probably takes control of the address through private keys and then moves the bitcoin), but they actually can. Has happened multiple times before. Those coins are then auctioned off. So yeah, the government can seize a company reserve that's in bitcoin.

[posi]

I believe the companies that now choose Bitcoin as their company reserve assets already have some framework as a legal right is a concern and the last time I checked most countries where cryptocurrency is supported tax people based on the income in crypto so I don't see a reason why any serious violation will occur but yes the government may seize the company reserve if a serious violation happens.

[eaLiTy]

About the recent trend on Bitcoin which some companies started to buy Bitcoins and make it as the company's reserve. Recent was the Square company.

So my purpose of this thread is to talk about the companies that have Bitcoin as company reserve.

Everyone is waiting for a big rally in BTCitcoin, anyone who ever invested in any financial asset in the past ten years will know that BTCitcoin is getting ready for another rally and with the economic situation is not that great and these companies do not want to risk investing in any other asset they are solely concentrating on the BTCitcoin market. There are many companies that invested heavily in the past one year and the only problem i see is that once the market rallies i am expecting all these huge investors booking their profits and the fall will be huge.

Is the government can seize or they have the right for those Bitcoins they bought? If ever there will be some serious violations on the low for any companies that owns Bitcoin as company reserve?

If you meant, if a company violates the law is it possible for the government to seize the coins, sure the government can and will seize the coins.

[Darker45]

I guess it is being closely and carefully studied right now as it already has somehow created a little trend. The worst scenario and my fear is that, since the governments can always find fault whenever they want, they might end up imposing heavy penalties on these companies for having millions of USD in Bitcoin as their reserve.

Of course, the government could seize them if they have established solid grounds. Otherwise, it doesn't have rights to those Bitcoin.

[shield132]

About the recent trend on Bitcoin which some companies started to buy Bitcoins and make it as the company's reserve. Recent was the Square company.

So my purpose of this thread is to talk about the companies that have Bitcoin as company reserve.

Is the government can seize or they have the right for those Bitcoins they bought? If ever there will be some serious violations on the low for any companies that owns Bitcoin as company reserve?


Here, we can see some of the companies that already owned Bitcoin : Bitcoin Treasuries in Publicly Traded Companies

I can't tell you 100% exact answer but to my mind Governments have right to seize anything but according to situation and necessarity. If someone got money in illegal ways, then bitcoin can seize it and there were such moments back when darknets were a new thing (if I amn't mistaken). Also, if someone sends bitcoin in last seconds on burn address or on address that doesn't exist, then governments can do nothing, those coins are really seized automatically.
There is nothing wrong in fact if company owns reserves in bitcoin. Doesn't Bitmain and Bitfury own reserves in BTC? It's not a problem for government and they can't judge any company for this reason or at first they have to change the laws.

[NavI_027]

Your questions reminds that bitcoiners must choose non custodial wallets to use and to store their bitcoin investment. Rely on other companies for bitcoin investment or use custodial wallet is bad and probably brings troublesome.

Gosh! You made me panic all of a sudden. You have a point and I forgot that I'm using a custodial wallet. Though I know it was 100% legit, I guess I should not be too complacent regarding this matter even knowing that our country don't yet have a concrete crypto regulation so far.

But I hope they can give us ultimatum before its effectiveness if ever implemented in the future (but I hope not at all) because we will suffer for real. I guess its time to start planning of buying a hardware wallet .

[BuNga_cute]

If it is proven that a company violates applicable regulations, of course the government has the right to seize anything from the company.
The government can seize Bitcoin too, so the owner of the company should always obey all applicable regulations. And if the company
owner wants to use Bitcoin for the company's reserve funds, I'm sure it won't be published to the public. So it doesn't attract the government's
attention. But as long as Bitcoin is not banned in the country, so in my opinion it is safe to use Bitcoin for the company's reserve funds.
Because the government may not seize Bitcoin without a reason.

[Lucius]

Authorities do not have any backdoor or access to your wallet. Your bank could be ordered to close or freeze your account - the choice and necessary power is at the authority's tip of the finger.

In the case of these companies that have publicly announced that they have invested in BTC, it is actually very easy to seize their crypto assets, or better to say that it is very easy to freeze those assets. I can't say for sure how these companies store their BTC, but I believe that most use custodial wallets and that most of these BTCs are very likely on Coinbase.

In other words, it makes no difference whether someone has a fiat in a bank, or has a BTC in a crypto bank - and no matter how positive it is for companies to invest in a BTC, if they don’t stick to the “not your keys, not your coins” rule then they are exposed at all times not only to the possibility of hacking, but also to the fact that their funds may be frozen.

[KIZILAGA]

https://news.bitcoin.com/german-authorities-confiscate-30-million-bitcoin-pirate-movie-site/

https://www.coindesk.com/tag/bitcoin-seizure

https://news.bitcoin.com/tether-freezes-millions-of-dollars-usdt-40-addresses/

maybe thats why trying to ban privacy coins.

[roadrunnerjaiv2025]

Just as anyone with access to your wallet can steal your bitcoin, the government can seize someone's coins by simply requiring their key. But if you're asking if they can take over the blockchain, no they can't. It's a system run by thousands of nodes from all over the world. They will have to seize all of those nodes to have some control over the blockchain. They will also have to take over exchanges and online wallet providers. But they won't be able to access desktop and hardware wallets unless they go after each bitcoin holder. But no one in their right mind would go that far. It will require the combined efforts of all congresses from all countries. That will take a huge amount of time, effort, and money, too.     

[Lorence.xD]

Company reserve like bitcoin is considered as financial assets. I think that it will be included in seizure because laws that surround it are vague for a purpose. There might be disputes in regards to this but the sooner the financial department studies all the possible angles to make crypto asset move out of the grey area, the better.

[kryptqnick]

About the recent trend on Bitcoin which some companies started to buy Bitcoins and make it as the company's reserve. Recent was the Square company.

So my purpose of this thread is to talk about the companies that have Bitcoin as company reserve.

Is the government can seize or they have the right for those Bitcoins they bought? If ever there will be some serious violations on the low for any companies that owns Bitcoin as company reserve?


Here, we can see some of the companies that already owned Bitcoin : Bitcoin Treasuries in Publicly Traded Companies

I think the companies put money into BTC not because of potential issues with the government, but rather due to raising concerns about the USD due to overprinting, and also because of the poor economic situation (Bitcoin might look like a chance to profit). I'm sure the government would not have troubles seizing their funds in BTC if the authorities can prove it was used for fraud. After all, they take bitcoins used for financial crimes and then even sell them on auctions, so why should this be any different? But other than that, if it's a private company, I think the funds belong to the owners of the company and the authorities have no right to take these funds.

[int03h]

The government does not have the right to confiscate Bitcoin from a business if it is clearly declared and not involved in criminal activity.
Of course, their hosting must be permitted by law.
The regulations regarding bitcoin are not the same in every country and we need to respect the government's regulations.

[BrewMaster]

they have done it already multiple times! the "companies" weren't as big but still they were companies called "bitcoin exchanges". a couple of them were closed and their assets seized.
that is what happens with centralization and there is no avoiding that.

[target]

they have done it already multiple times! the "companies" weren't as big but still they were companies called "bitcoin exchanges". a couple of them were closed and their assets seized.
that is what happens with centralization and there is no avoiding that.

So these companies who declared they own BTC just risk themselves from getting seized. Terrible things could happen but what are the grounds that the government will sieze their BTC holdings?

These companies are in US afaik so they are also bound to the laws which made them declared their BTC assets. They just can't hide it like in other countries.

[teosanru]

About the recent trend on Bitcoin which some companies started to buy Bitcoins and make it as the company's reserve. Recent was the Square company.

So my purpose of this thread is to talk about the companies that have Bitcoin as company reserve.

Is the government can seize or they have the right for those Bitcoins they bought? If ever there will be some serious violations on the low for any companies that owns Bitcoin as company reserve?


Here, we can see some of the companies that already owned Bitcoin : Bitcoin Treasuries in Publicly Traded Companies

This is a very subjective question. In short answer is Yes!! But actually it pretty much depends upon the situation and agency. Government doesn't means the federal or the central government of any country. Government includes different agencies who work in various fields like law enforcement, taxation, money laundering etc. So technically it depends on the type of violation that any compnay does. In general assets of a company can generally be seized in an event of non payment of dues by any company. so if any company fails to pay it's creditors yes government can seize Bitcoins also in events of money laundering etc. Bitcoin can be frozen or seized.

[FACE 2 FACE]

In my opinion, the most significant event in recent years was the decision to buy bitcoins by the world's largest sovereign pension fund in Norway. They have now not a very large amount of bitcoins, - about 17000, but this is a very indicative event that clearly hints that bitcoin is accepted now at the highest level.

[barbara44]

Governments do seize Bitcoin from people, maybe when they commit some crimes or if the cryptocurrency is illegal in that country. I have read stories of government seizing cryptocurrency that belongs to people, and they do that by taking their private keys from them.

Every company that is functioning under regulation of any government already knows what’s right and wrong. They already know that not following the order as was given to them can result to some punishment, so they will try their best to avoid it. If government can seize Bitcoin that belongs to individuals, maybe they can do the same with institutions. But as I said at first, that can only be when it’s illegal in the country.

[acdc]

Even countries that are not sympathetic to bitcoin like China or Vietnam, they see bitcoin as an asset of the people and people are free to own it.
So I assume that if a company buys bitcoins as a reserve they have total discretion over their bitcoins, the government has no right to seize it.

[xZork]

About the recent trend on Bitcoin which some companies started to buy Bitcoins and make it as the company's reserve. Recent was the Square company.

So my purpose of this thread is to talk about the companies that have Bitcoin as company reserve.

Is the government can seize or they have the right for those Bitcoins they bought? If ever there will be some serious violations on the low for any companies that owns Bitcoin as company reserve?


Here, we can see some of the companies that already owned Bitcoin : Bitcoin Treasuries in Publicly Traded Companies

That is some bad news. They are just straight up robbed of their finances. Its possible for the government to step up if they are within Government property since they can seize foreign or unknown items BUT Bitcoin is a currency within the Internet. It just sounds like they know what is happening and straight up robbed them. That also depends on the type of government they are running within their country. A communist state might be the worst kind to have Bitcoin (imo).

As of now, there hasn't been any bitcoins seized by the government, and people and companies are still free to own bitcoin and treat it as a legal asset.
I don't know in the future how the government will take cases of companies buying bitcoin and turning it into ownership, but with current regulations they won't collect anyone's bitcoins.