Finland sold 1,900 BTC, for a good cause

[Baofeng]

Selling pressures from them? hehehe

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.

Yeah perhaps they don't know what to do with this seized bitcoin, and someone come up of the idea of why not sold it for Ukraine? Win-win for them, the world will look at Finland and says good job, and then bitcoin being exposed again. Hopefully it will not used to buy weaponry, just the essentials, like food supply for those trap inside the war zone.

[sheenshane]

I thought after seizing the Bitcoin, authorities will automatically have an auction to sell the Bitcoin.

IMO, that's a good cause and has a reason to sell their seized Bitcoin to donate to Ukraine.  But it might have an impact on the Bitcoin price and might be the reason why Bitcoin still struggling with its price to rise.  It's a great help to Ukrainian out there.

That's how to clean dirty Bitcoin after being seized by the government and donated to the country that most needed help.

[darkangel11]

Unfortunately this looks like they were selling during the crash because the average price for that sale seems to be around 24k USD. We haven't been anywhere near that price before and after the crash, somewhere between June 12 and 15th.

When I saw the price below 200 week MA I was asking myself who the hell is selling at these obvious lows. You have to be an idiot to wait for many months just sell it all at 70% below the top. Now we have the answer. Bankrupting lending services, Tesla, government of Finland...

[Haunebu]

Good decision even though they wasted too much time as some of the posters above mentioned. Personally, I like Finland, but I have no clue about their government and their stance on cryptocurrencies.

However, they did help out Ukraine using crypto regardless of their own ulterior motives which is all that matters at the end of the day. I just hope that they sent the donation to the right people though.

[Lucius]

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.

Most people look at war from the perspective of one country defending itself against another country that is attacking it - and any help to a country that is defending itself against invasion is justified for me personally. Whether that money will be used for food, medical supplies or military equipment is less important, as long as we know that it is donated to those in need.

My country was in a similar situation 30 years ago, but instead of any military aid, the world imposed sanctions on the import of weapons and much worse things happened than what we can see in Ukraine today.

There is no special role for Bitcoin here, because Finland sold something that was seized, and it could also have been gold, cash, or expensive cars - but Bitcoin has undoubtedly played a big role in helping Ukraine through the huge number of donations that have been made so far.

[Henrobakkara]

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?

Donating food and water I understand but rebuilding at this time makes no sense because I see on news every day that most of those Ukrainian Areas are still been heavily bombarded every day so how can rebuilding take place?
I don't think your comment is hard to read at all but who is actually doing the killing here? I believe that Ukraine is actually defending itself and the President and the people of Ukraine have not had any problem asking for help to DEFEND the Country which I believe the aid is about rather than the way you see it as "buying more classic weapons and kill more lives"

[Mauser]

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

Selling 1,900 BTC at 24.736 USD is a better price than if they sold the coins right now, but a very bad price if you compare it to earlier this year or last year. Giving the money to Ukraine is a good way to help a country in need, and other countries should do similar things. What I am not sure about is why they didn't send the BTC instead of USD to Ukraine. Is Ukraine in need of short term cash? I thought that all the weapon shipments from the West are either free or part of a lend lease program that only needs to be repaid in many years to come. Because if Ukraine doesn't need the money right now it would have been much better to keep the BTC for now and convert it when they need the money. Long term Bitcoins is going to rise again and if they want to use the money for rebuilding Ukraine they would get a lot more from it.

[buwaytress]

@Baofeng @TimeTeller
But that was my whole point, we can't know. It would be enough to know it would help alleviate suffering but state to state assistance like this, unclear it's not to finance the war. My personal belief is you're really not helping the people who need it most when you're helping either side in the conflict itself.

It's not as simple as all that really, and again, pretty irrelevant to Bitcoin.

[virasisog]

It's a good initiative of Finland and I also admire its transparency. It's just so amazing that they're able to switch the seized money from crimes to help Ukraine which is suffering from the crisis of war. I hope more countries would initiate to do the same thing or even use the bloody money to help countries or suffering people. In our country, the authorities aren't transparent every time they seized drug-related crimes money. Some of them even reuse it for their drug-related business. That's the reason why the crime and drug rate is still increasing in our country.

[Rikafip]

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?

Maybe because those bitcoins were seized and they had to be sold, like anything else that governments seizes so I doubt that they can just send the bitcoin even if they wanted to.

But it might have an impact on the Bitcoin price and might be the reason why Bitcoin still struggling with its price to rise.  

I really doubt that 1900 BTC can impact the bitcoin price that much when bitcoin daily volume is ~40 billion dollars.

My country was in a similar situation 30 years ago, but instead of any military aid, the world imposed sanctions on the import of weapons and much worse things happened than what we can see in Ukraine today.

Regarding the aid that we received during the war, majority of it didn't reach those that actually needed help and while those who were assigned to distribute it got rich instead. My guess is that similar thing is happening in Ukraine with donated money and goods.  

[seoincorporation]

It would be nice to know how the Ukrainian Gov. will use those $47 million... Because i have the feeling that they will be used more weapons and not for help the people affected by the war.

But is their call and they can use it as the way they want. But i don't like the idea at all of a ware powered by cryptos.

[stompix]

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?

Maybe because those bitcoins were seized and they had to be sold, like anything else that governments seizes so I doubt that they can just send the bitcoin even if they wanted to.

Yeah, that's the reason why, it's the legal aspect of it and the bureaucracy involved.

It's easy for a country to send aid when it's in $ or euros as that's a sum, it's easy to give away stuff from government reserves but those were seized funds, so they couldn't just donate it randomly, they need to go through this to establish it's valued due to the origin of it for in case of a further or unexpected development in some of those cases. You could donate a car as it has a catalog value but you can't really donate shares in a company or assets that change their value by 50% between the two stamps on the paper.

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.

Since when it's a criminal activity to help someone defend his country?

It would be nice to know how the Ukrainian Gov. will use those $47 million... Because i have the feeling that they will be used more weapons and not for help the people affected by the war.

Oh, what a bad choice, getting weapons to stop Russians from killing people!
I wonder what would you choose if your home would get vandalized every night, people getting you new windows every day or a shotgun to get rid of the mofo who is terrorizing you?

[eaLiTy]

~
 I wonder though why there was a delay in selling off the bitcoins back then in November 2021.

The article clearly says that they were trying to sell off the coins early this year and was seeking help of brokers to sell off the coins and with the huge amount it is not that easy to find buyers that easily especially when you are dealing with a government. Instead they should have auctioned the coins just like the US does with these confiscated coins.

~
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.

Once the coins are confiscated by the authority, it is not tainted anymore and the government of Finland does not necessarily need to donate them but their actions are commendable. This is not the first time any government is auctioning or selling off BTCitcoin ceased from drug transaction but this is the first time i am hearing a government giving away as a donation to another country.

[Fatunad]

It would be nice to know how the Ukrainian Gov. will use those $47 million... Because i have the feeling that they will be used more weapons and not for help the people affected by the war.

But is their call and they can use it as the way they want. But i don't like the idea at all of a ware powered by cryptos.

There's no way on knowing on where those funds or donations would be applied on whether it would be used to be purchased weaponry or would be totally applied into its citizens that had been badly affected by the war? We know that it do really sucks when we know those funds would be used on other means but its their rights on how they would really be using it since its been donated then its up to theirs on what would
be their decision and this is a good move or deed indeed for Finland on having this kind of  donation which is the biggest one so far in crypto space.This amount will surely help a lot of those
people who are in Ukraine but just been said that we hope it would really be benefited out on a fair way.

[CryptSafe]

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.

Donation is not a bad idea anyways. I think Finland did a great humanitarian and charity work by making donation of such amount of money by selling of their Crypto assets so as to support Ukraine in their ongoing battle with Russia. I strongly suggest part of the donations be channeled into food provision as it could help sustain the Ukrainians and their soldiers in time of war because one needs  vitality and energy so as to engage in activities so as to be focused.
Now my second thought is this, though this amount traded was huge and I believe would have impact on the market. Currently speaking the market is gradually regaining from being bearish at this point in time trading such amount of coin at the instance don't you think it isn't quite a little bit more panicking.

[The Cryptovator]

Good to know that seized funds from criminals using for good reason. I regret that war has not yet stopped. The world is encountering fluctuations due to this war. I don't support any war at all, so no fan of Russia or Ukraine. But need to help those who suffer from that war. And Finland seems to have taken the right decision to use seized Bitcoin for Ukraine. No matter if they sold and it affects Bitcoin price still feel proud as a Bitcoin fan.

[Zanab247]

It would be nice to know how the Ukrainian Gov. will use those $47 million... Because i have the feeling that they will be used more weapons and not for help the people affected by the war.

But is their call and they can use it as the way they want. But i don't like the idea at all of a ware powered by cryptos.

I believe, Ukraine government will use this money to restore all the things they has lost during the war battle and also use the remaining ones to build a good environment for crypto users in the country to show that they value the offer. Ukraine economy will Wax up stronger very soon, because their government has been looking for this opportunity to come so that they can recover from the losses they experience between Russia and Ukraine that made the both countries economy to be affected negatively.

[Fortify]

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.

It's definitely a very kind gesture and shows yet again the amount of love that Scandinavian countries have for Ukraine in defeating Russia in this nonsensical war. As you say, it would have been nicer if they had been able to sell these funds when they were worth a lot more but it all helps. That is a large chunk to re-enter back into circulation and it seems like the criminals it was seized from will have no say in the matter. It would be nice to see all countries use these sort of seized assets in the same way, instead of potentially buying more equipment for their police forces and having a major conflict of interest like we see with some police forces in America.

[teosanru]

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.

This is good intiative. Infact I feel not only bitcoin all the national reserves which are proceeds from what is caught during such crimes should be dealt in this manner only. It should be either donated for welfare of the people directly or should be used to educate people to avoid that crime in the future. If it is merged with the national treasury it's accountability is in entirely lost. I think it's a really good initiative by Finland but I don't know when will Ukraine's situation improve.

[ingiltere]

The only thing that matters is it didn't affect market at all, no downside for Bitcoin. I don't care how they spend their money coming from criminals, just don't be a hypocrite. They want to donate to Ukraine? Then do it. Don't expect what you do to be appreciated by everyone in the world.
That amount is pretty small for any country, so they should use it wisely. A country that still has limited resources and doesn't produce because of the war cannot straighten its back no matter what it does.