Chinese Police Seize 1% of Bitcoin’s Total Supply

[zasad@]

Chinese Police Seize 1% of Bitcoin’s Total Supply
https://decrypt.co/49735/chinese-police-seize-1-of-bitcoins-total-supply
Scott Chipolina(C)

Chinese authorities have seized over $4 billion in crypto assets.
The funds were part of a major Ponzi scheme that exploited over two million people.
To date, 15 people have been convicted.


https://twitter.com/lawmaster/status/1332252655603822593

"This is massive news. The amounts seized by the Chinese police:

- 194,775 BTC (1% of circulating supply)
- 833,083 ETH (0.73% of circulating supply)
- 1.4 million LTC
- 27.6 million EOS
- 74,167 DASH
- 487 million XRP
- 6 billion DOGE
- 79,581 BCH
- 213,724 USDT

The court said "the seized digital currencies will be processed pursuant to laws and the proceeds and gains will be forfeited to the national treasury." Still not 100% clear what that means"

Good news, isn't it?

[buwaytress]

Can't really be bothered to go check veracity, but decrypt's generally got quite solid reporting. Can't imagine what the CCP is going to do with this. I know they don't actually organise police bids typically for confiscated goods but I'd love to be a fly on the wall seeing that operation go down.

Seriously, the number of people investing in Ponzis is too damn high.

P.S. If you want a clue on which currencies actually have utility, this is a pretty ok list to go by haha. Dogecoin still preferred to than most alts that's a laugh!

[avikz]

The court said "the seized digital currencies will be processed pursuant to laws and the proceeds and gains will be forfeited to the national treasury." Still not 100% clear what that means"

Good news, isn't it?

How on earth it can be a good news?? Having 4 billion USD worth of crypto assets in the hand of an authoritarian government!! It's good that a ponzi scheme is busted but Chinese government is not at all favorable to cryptocurrencies.

I don't know what Chinese law says, but in general for any such kind of financial frauds, the government liquidate the seized assets and return the money to its investors. That liquidation happens in fiat currency so I assume Chinese government will sell off the seized crypto assets. That's not a good news in this bleeding market!

[stompix]

Can't imagine what the CCP is going to do with this.

As part of the ruling, the court said "the seized digital currencies will be processed pursuant to laws and the proceeds and gains will be forfeited to the national treasury."

It will be all used for the glory and the happiness of all the nation, reminds me of that scene from Chernobyl. But it will be interesting to see how will they exchange them for yuans, wiouht breaking their own laws.  

But again, we see another proof that some scammers are idiots:

The police identified the trails of about $19 million of those laundered funds, which were spent by the convicts or their families on purchasing luxury cars, two dozens of real estate properties in China as well as insurance policies in Hong Kong.

Seriously you're living in a country where the party wants to know and has the means of knowing if you have brushed your teeth properly before getting on a bus and you think you can come out of nowhere and start spending without getting caught?

P.S. If you want a clue on which currencies actually have utility, this is a pretty ok list to go by haha. Dogecoin still preferred to than most alts that's a laugh!

I started to appreciate that coin, no drama behind the founders, no premine, fast and cheap to use, accepted on almost all exchanges, even a few ATMs, a proof that simple things are what's needed, no fancy dapps and contracts and during cancer and all that other advertised crap.

[gentlemand]

How on earth it can be a good news?? Having 4 billion USD worth of crypto assets in the hand of an authoritarian government!! It's good that a ponzi scheme is busted but Chinese government is not at all favorable to cryptocurrencies.

I don't know what Chinese law says, but in general for any such kind of financial frauds, the government liquidate the seized assets and return the money to its investors. That liquidation happens in fiat currency so I assume Chinese government will sell off the seized crypto assets. That's not a good news in this bleeding market!

There's no way in hell this coinage will ever reach an open market. Just like every other seizure in every other country they'll be auctioned or a private sale arranged. It's a more positive outcome for everyone than its previous state of affairs.

It's better than it remaining in the hands of the people who stole it. They were dumping constantly, and they deserved nailing to the wall.

[tranthidung]

Why such news were released at the right period when Bitcoin were not able to break its cap at $20k? Multiple bad news were released after that moment.

More than that, I stopped reading the article on the blockcrypto when I saw "Ponzi scheme crackdown". Scammers are everywhere and they try to abuse any tool they can (crypto is only of tool they try) and they do neither contribute anything to crypto market nor destroy the crypto market exclusively bitcoin.

Such bad news from China can be expected if we knew what happened recently with OTC markets on OKEx. Additionally, some links in that article direct to a local newspaper and I don't believe in their validity.

Code:

http://newspaper.jcrb.com/2020/20200929/20200929_006/20200929_006_1.htm

Correction can be deeper but it is a healthy correction and such news don't break my belief in bitcoin.

[lifeforcepools]

Whoa, how did they do it? Will this affect the price of bitcoin?

[btctaipei]

Whoa, how did they do it? Will this affect the price of bitcoin?

Not likely.  The Chinese central bank is aware of the consequence of dealing with fall out of USD collapse, and is quietly boosting its precious metal and crypto currency holdings for the day of global reset.

[Bergkampsballs]

Whoa, how did they do it? Will this affect the price of bitcoin?

Not likely.  The Chinese central bank is aware of the consequence of dealing with fall out of USD collapse, and is quietly boosting its precious metal and crypto currency holdings for the day of global reset.

I thought the understanding was that this kind of news would lead to an increase in the price of Bitcoin?

[gentlemand]

I thought the understanding was that this kind of news would lead to an increase in the price of Bitcoin?

It usually induces short term panic from certain nincompoops who believe the Chinese government will create an account on Yobit and spend 8 months tapping the dump key. Then the coins find some buyers off market and we never hear about it ever again.

[sheenshane]

IMO, it can be considered as good news knowing that the Chinese government is also after people who do Ponzi scheme with cryptocurrency that shows fair and just in implementing their law over the citizens and to the culprits of the society.

However, when the seized assets amounting to $4 billion of cryptocurrency with 1% of Bitcoin circulating supply in the market will be forfeited and go to the national treasury that may cause either a lesser supply of bitcoin which will pump the Bitcoin's price or if they will sell it by having an auction then Bitcoins value may dump.  The worst effect of this news could lead people not to trust Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies that might hinder the global adoption and become odd in hitting the ATH.

[Lucius]

It will be all used for the glory and the happiness of all the nation, reminds me of that scene from Chernobyl. But it will be interesting to see how will they exchange them for yuans, wiouht breaking their own laws.  

If they are really going to sell what they have seized, it will be a little strange that they have to do so in a country where crypto trading is banned - but I believe they have left themselves such a possibility somewhere in the law - and even if they are not, whom will they answer to because they have broken the law? They may be haunted by the spirit of the great leader Mao Zedong  

Speaking of China, nothing good when it comes to crypto does not come from that country, so we continue in the same tone.

[Smartprofit]

I don't know if this is good news or not.  

Another question arises - are the Chinese authorities planning to sell these bitcoins or not?  Will Bitcoin Become a Strategic Resource for Governments in the Next Decade (2021-2030)?  Will Bitcoin become the world's reserve currency?  It is difficult for people to own bitcoin if governments actively discourage it.  

However, for states, this asset can be very attractive.  Perhaps China wants to own not 1 percent of all bitcoins, but 10 %?  60 %? Perhaps other states are interested in having the first cryptocurrency in their reserves.  
As far as I know, Iran has stated this need.

https://news.bitcoin.com/iran-bitcoin-sanctions-inflation/

[The Cryptovator]

1% of the total Bitcoin supply is really a big amount. I can't believe that, is there any other source of that news? It's quite complicated to determine if it's positive for Bitcoin. But I have to admit, it's good for whole crypto communities. It's because at least a big Ponzi scammer's fund has been seized by police. If it's true, means that fund is under the control of governments. If happen a massive sell then it would be a negative impact on Bitcoin price. Who knows, if the current dump of Bitcoin happened due to this news?

[noormcs5]

Whoa, how did they do it? Will this affect the price of bitcoin?

It should not effect the price of bitcoin, i don't think this can create any panic in the market. The Chinese police seize the bitcoin and if they never sold them, the bitcoin total supply can decrease further resulting in more high bitcoin prices.

[RapTarX]

That liquidation happens in fiat currency so I assume Chinese government will sell off the seized crypto assets. That's not a good news in this bleeding market!

Not necessarily. Most of the times, such trades take place on OTC and they are unlikely to affect the market in general. Govt will never register an account with an exchange to sell the seized BTC. FBI has auctioned BTC acquired from Silk Road issue if I'm correct.

Whoa, how did they do it? Will this affect the price of bitcoin?

It should not effect the price of bitcoin, i don't think this can create any panic in the market. The Chinese police seize the bitcoin and if they never sold them, the bitcoin total supply can decrease further resulting in more high bitcoin prices.

According to the statement in OP, it clearly says that they will liquidate the crypto and the gain will be sent to treasury.

[dothebeats]

It’s still alarming that people up to this day are still into ponzi schemes and are still blindly sending their money over to these organizers. We have seen the fall of bitconnect and other such “companies” over the course of a few years, but apparently people never learn, so long as there’s immediate money to be made. One area of questioning though would be the cryptocurrencies’ fate on the hands of the Chinese government. That’s a lot of money, and could be used for virtually anything that they can think of.

[gentlemand]

area of questioning though would be the cryptocurrencies’ fate on the hands of the Chinese government. That’s a lot of money, and could be used for virtually anything that they can think of.

There's no reason for them to do anything other than every other authority - sell it to the highest bidder. I certainly hope the victims of the scheme get the proceeds.

Schemes like this will always happen. Untold numbers of people are stupid and desperate and will be as long as there are still people. They can talk themselves into believing anything if they have a hope of solving problems or making a gain.

[kryptqnick]

The court said "the seized digital currencies will be processed pursuant to laws and the proceeds and gains will be forfeited to the national treasury." Still not 100% clear what that means"

Good news, isn't it?

How on earth it can be a good news?? Having 4 billion USD worth of crypto assets in the hand of an authoritarian government!! It's good that a ponzi scheme is busted but Chinese government is not at all favorable to cryptocurrencies.

I don't know what Chinese law says, but in general for any such kind of financial frauds, the government liquidate the seized assets and return the money to its investors. That liquidation happens in fiat currency so I assume Chinese government will sell off the seized crypto assets. That's not a good news in this bleeding market!

That's surely a lot, but I think it's better if China has this money than the scammers. It's good when scammers are finally caught and the money is taken from them, but I think it would be fair to return this money to the scam victims, and I believe this doesn't usually happen (with cryptos) in these situations. In any case, 1% is not big enough to control or significantly impact Bitcoin, and perhaps the government will make an auction or sell these coins on exchanges to show that they are not BTC hodlers. As for the market, I think the price is still very good, so what if it's not $19k anymore.

[Sterbens]

Chinese Police Seize 1% of Bitcoin’s Total Supply
https://decrypt.co/49735/chinese-police-seize-1-of-bitcoins-total-supply
Scott Chipolina(C)

Chinese authorities have seized over $4 billion in crypto assets.
The funds were part of a major Ponzi scheme that exploited over two million people.

incredibly, it's amazing how the Chinese authorities quickly seized a sizeable supply of crypto.
This obviously has a big impact on other big investors in China.
Of course, evidence of confiscation in addition to entering the state treasury will also add to quite a worrying crypto change.

If there is any indication of abuse, I think a lot of people will worry that crypto ownership in China will be limited.