Finland sold 1,900 BTC, for a good cause

[Dave1]

The government of Finland reportedly sold 1,900 BTC worth $47 million

Finland has offloaded 1,900 BTC that was seized from drugs-related crimes.

The country had announced the plans earlier this year, and was seeking two crypto brokers to assist with the transaction.

Unfortunately, the delays have caused the value of this Bitcoin to fall rather substantially — with a final selling price of about $47 million.

Finland says that the cash is going to be donated to Ukraine, in what will become the biggest crypto-related contribution that the country has received.

https://coinmarketcap.com/alexandria/article/finland-sells-1-900-btc-and-says-47m-will-be-donated-to-ukraine

So this is for a good cause after all, they wanted to help Ukraine in it's war and I think majority of us didn't support the war.

There is also a good thread by @paxmao regarding donations- Donate to Ukraine.

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[Darker45]

This is indeed a good cause. And I'm reflecting on the fungibility of Bitcoin in this case. All Bitcoins are equal. There is no single Bitcoin that is more Bitcoin than another. There's no such thing as a dirty Bitcoin simply because it comes from a drug-related crime. It doesn't mean that since a Bitcoin was used in a crime it is less of a Bitcoin already. It isn't. It could still be fully used as a Bitcoin. It could still be put into good use. After all, that's what's important with Bitcoin, that it is used in good things.

Finland has indeed done a good job. I hope the donation won't be channeled through a platform that subscribes to the idea that Bitcoins aren't equal or else it would be flagged as tainted coins and might be rejected or frozen.

[oaz7t]

Interesting to see how this is not bloody money since it was transacted for the drug related crimes.

I'm very happy to see that much amount of money going to Ukraine for better cause (or not may be used to buy weapons) which seems to similar criminal activity as well.

Finland should donate food, water and try to rebuild the safe houses with this money rather than just giving away this money.

Many of you find it hard to read what I am saying but think about this for a minute, drug related money is ceased, now it's being sent over to the country where war is on going and all that country would do is buy more classic weapons and kill more lives.

What kind of justice is that?

[pooya87]

There is also a good thread by @paxmao regarding donations- Donate to Ukraine.

I'd personally avoid sending any donations to the regimes because they are already receiving billions of dollars and not doing anything for the people. If you want to make any donations you should find someone trustworthy in Ukraine (you can find a couple of users on bitcointalk) and send your donations directly their way instead.

[GreatArkansas]

Unfortunately, the delays have caused the value of this Bitcoin to fall rather substantially — with a final selling price of about $47 million.
(....)

(...)

I am curious why instead of selling Bitcoin to fiat or converting it to fiat currency like USD and donating, they directly use Bitcoin to donate?
There are some authorized or legit entities who are accepting Bitcoin as donation, especially the Ukraine government.
But overall, this is a good move also from Finland government, even they sold Bitcoin, there is still good use.

[mk4]

I am curious why instead of selling Bitcoin to fiat or converting it to fiat currency like USD and donating, they directly use Bitcoin to donate?
There are some authorized or legit entities who are accepting Bitcoin as donation, especially the Ukraine government.

If I were to guess, probably the fact that donating the bitcoin directly would give the impression to the masses that bitcoin is actually useful, and the Finnish government might not like that.

[cabron]

Interesting to see how this is not bloody money since it was transacted for the drug related crimes.

I'm very happy to see that much amount of money going to Ukraine for better cause (or not may be used to buy weapons) which seems to similar criminal activity as well.

Finland should donate food, water and try to rebuild the safe houses with this money rather than just giving away this money.

Many of you find it hard to read what I am saying but think about this for a minute, drug related money is ceased, now it's being sent over to the country where war is on going and all that country would do is buy more classic weapons and kill more lives.

What kind of justice is that?

No one will see it the way you look at it.  Be silent now and just pretend its for good cause after all the article is not saying anything more than that.
But why is this coins not being in the auction instead. Drapper would be happy to bid more than $47M which more money sent as donation for Ukraine.

It should be for food really. There is no way they can win the war, they know it so its just pointless to send weapon but instead send food. Dying of hunger is worse than dying in war.

[Davidvictorson]

So this is for a good cause after all, they wanted to help Ukraine in it's war and I think majority of us didn't support the war.

I have experienced firsthand the effect of war on people, their families and on everything about them. And during a period of war and conflict, any amount can go a long way. The $47 million donation will do a lot of good for the almost 5 million people according to the UN that have become refugees and over 7 million have been displaced in Ukraine. I wonder though why there was a delay in selling off the bitcoins back then in November 2021.

[btc_angela]

Unfortunately, the delays have caused the value of this Bitcoin to fall rather substantially — with a final selling price of about $47 million.
(....)

(...)

I am curious why instead of selling Bitcoin to fiat or converting it to fiat currency like USD and donating, they directly use Bitcoin to donate?
There are some authorized or legit entities who are accepting Bitcoin as donation, especially the Ukraine government.
But overall, this is a good move also from Finland government, even they sold Bitcoin, there is still good use.

Probably they just want to wash their hands with this tainted bitcoin? And then we look at it as somewhat the "right" thing to do for them, instead of just holding this bitcoin in their custody, at least they decided to donate it to Ukraine. And we are not sure if this is all the government of Finland is holding, those they confiscated, maybe there will still thousands at their position, just saying.

[mk4]

Probably they just want to wash their hands with this tainted bitcoin?

The reason to not hold "tainted" bitcoin is so your funds wouldn't get locked when sending them to centralized exchanges and for you to not be a suspect in general. This obviously wouldn't matter if it's the government that's holding the "tainted" bitcoin.

[Kakmakr]

It might have been for a good cause, but it is definitely not a good thing for Bitcoin when large amounts of coins are converted to Fiat currencies. We also recently saw Tesla selling their coins... so things like this add up and it is pushing the price of Bitcoin down.... causing a downward spiral.

It is actually nice to see that some governments hoarded some coins, even if it was confiscated coins. They would have made a huge profit, if they held on to those coins, until it reached the next all-time-high price. 

[LoyceV]

it is definitely not a good thing for Bitcoin when large amounts of coins are converted to Fiat currencies.

Why? On the other end of the deal, you could say someone converted $47 million to 1,900 Bitcoin. It always works both ways, and chances are the coins are now distributed to many different individuals instead of centralizing them.

[KaliLinux]

So this is for a good cause after all, they wanted to help Ukraine in it's war and I think majority of us didn't support the war.

I have experienced firsthand the effect of war on people, their families and on everything about them. And during a period of war and conflict, any amount can go a long way. The $47 million donation will do a lot of good for the almost 5 million people according to the UN that have become refugees and over 7 million have been displaced in Ukraine. I wonder though why there was a delay in selling off the bitcoins back then in November 2021.

Hopefully, it was because they were confiscated Coins from criminals and I guess that's why the Government needed those crypto brokers to make sure everything went well. I too thought of it that way, why didn't the Government just send the Bitcoins to the Ukrainian Government when the price was much higher and thought they probably needed them to be clean or maybe it wasn't that. Anyways it was a good gesture from the Finland Government.

[Despairo]

it is definitely not a good thing for Bitcoin when large amounts of coins are converted to Fiat currencies.

Why? On the other end of the deal, you could say someone converted $47 million to 1,900 Bitcoin. It always works both ways, and chances are the coins are now distributed to many different individuals instead of centralizing them.

Seems like he only use Bitcoin as an investment rather than as a currency, while actually Satoshi's vision created Bitcoin is mainly as a decentralized currency that can't be blocked by any centralized party since it's work by peer to peer. Holding is good, but holding Bitcoin for entire your life is kind of selfish. Converting Bitcoin to fiat aren't always a bad decision because it can be a good deal if it's used for good thing like this donation.

With this help, you're give a chance for Ukraine citizens to live more longer and they might die if Finland didn't give this donation. Even you want to donate after 10 years when Bitcoin to the moon, your huge money can't revive someone which already dead.

[Lucius]

I am curious why instead of selling Bitcoin to fiat or converting it to fiat currency like USD and donating, they directly use Bitcoin to donate?

That was the first thing that came to my mind, because a direct BTC transaction would be the least complicated and fastest solution in the current situation. Apart from the reason mentioned by @mk4 (which makes sense), I would perhaps add that Finland did not want to send dirty Bitcoin as a donation, but rather wanted to clean it in some way - so even though that may not make much sense to us, the politicians, in addition to their ignorance still think differently about Bitcoin than most other people.

Be that as it may, those confiscated Bitcoins are in circulation again, and the money goes to help those who really need it at the moment. However, it should be taken into account that such a decision is not only humanitarian, but also political, given that all countries west of Ukraine know that a weak or defeated Ukraine brings war to their doorstep.

[NeuroticFish]

I am curious why instead of selling Bitcoin to fiat or converting it to fiat currency like USD and donating, they directly use Bitcoin to donate?
There are some authorized or legit entities who are accepting Bitcoin as donation, especially the Ukraine government.

If I were to guess, probably the fact that donating the bitcoin directly would give the impression to the masses that bitcoin is actually useful, and the Finnish government might not like that.

I'd add something more to this: it could look like they would be endorsing or at least advertising bitcoin.

Plus, I would not be surprised that some politicians may have been doing a great deal with some businessmen who bought the coins at such a great price (and will help the politicians with donations for next elections).

[Leviathan.007]

That is a piece of very good news to see dirty money is going to spend on a good cause especially if it's about helping people from other country and they are having problems because they are at war with another county while they are not guilty and just victims of war. This is a really good move from, the Finland government but regardless of using the money for Ukraine, I guess Finland could avoid selling the bitcoin and donate bitcoins instead of exchanging it fiat and in this case, Ukrainian people could sell it themselves and use it for other purpose and could be more useful for them.

[buwaytress]

All for helping, but cannot say for sure what this aid wi be for precisely. Not going to read too deep either but when I see it's "for the war", then that uncertainty is even more.

Even if it were a good cause, not for arms or violence etc., how this is good for Bitcoin, hard for me to see really ha.

[kryptqnick]

I think I saw Finland stating intentions to send money from seized cryptos to Ukraine earlier, and now it happened. It's a huge sum of money, and as a Ukrainian I am very grateful for this act of generosity. What I don't get, though, is similar to concerns expressed by others in the thread: why they badly needed to sell cryptos and donate the cash to Ukraine. Major Ukrainian foundations accept Bitcoin (such as Come Back Alive), and so does the official initiative by Zelensky United24 (albeit via a payment processor rather than directly onto a BTC address).

Interesting to see how this is not bloody money since it was transacted for the drug related crimes.

I'm very happy to see that much amount of money going to Ukraine for better cause (or not may be used to buy weapons) which seems to similar criminal activity as well.

Finland should donate food, water and try to rebuild the safe houses with this money rather than just giving away this money.

Many of you find it hard to read what I am saying but think about this for a minute, drug related money is ceased, now it's being sent over to the country where war is on going and all that country would do is buy more classic weapons and kill more lives.

What kind of justice is that?

Okay, a couple of things here if you truly don't understand why Ukraine needs weapons. You're saying Finland should donate food and water. Well guess what? When people were starving in Mariupol and many occupied and sieged cities (and I'm speaking not just from what I've read on the news but from what I know from my relatives who experienced hunger during Russian occupation in March), Ukraine had plenty of food loaded on huge trucks, ready to be deployed to help Ukrainian citizens. But Russia did not let the humanitarian aid pass through for a long time in many places. Food and water are useless when there are Russians with guns and tanks on the road, not letting the food trucks reach those who need them. You know what gets rid of those Russians? Weapons. And as for rebuilding safe houses, the issue is that you can spend a lot on rebuilding, and then Russian missiles or artillery shelling will hit the area again, destroying everything you've worked for. And what helps getting rid of missiles and shelling? Again, weapons. So Ukraine needs weapons to solve humanitarian issues. Not because Ukrainians are so eager to take human lives, but because of incredibly inhumane acts by Russians that cannot be countered with food or safe houses.

[TimeTeller]

All for helping, but cannot say for sure what this aid wi be for precisely. Not going to read too deep either but when I see it's "for the war", then that uncertainty is even more.

Even if it were a good cause, not for arms or violence etc., how this is good for Bitcoin, hard for me to see really ha.

Maybe, people will appreciate that seized bitcoins are going to help somebody's country which is still at war.
At least, the bitcoins coming from illegal means can be used to assist Ukraine at this time of crisis.
Not in the pockets of politicians for the country that badly needs financial assistance.
Wherever they will use it, so long it can help alleviate the suffering of its people, that's more enough to know.