US GOVERNMENT CONTINUES BITCOIN SEIZURES, CONTROLS NEARLY 1% OF CIRCULATING SUPP

[larry_vw_1955]

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/us-government-continues-bitcoin-seizures-controls-nearly-1-of-circulating-supply-

The US, after all, controls nearly 1% of a massive industry with substantial leverage over it. Are they going to be the only country with this leverage? It may be difficult for any nation to build up these stockpiles in secret, but even so, the race has already begun. No matter who wins it, it’s Bitcoin that will be on top in the end.


unfortunately it would appear that the usa governments hands are dirty and it has stolen peoples bitcoins, confiscated them, throwing people in jail and all kinds of things. enjoy your bitcoins you buy from uncle sam because it is blood money...

[1715122498]

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[franky1]

japanese gov(courts) had control of more coin than US, and from just one source (mtgox bankruptcy)

[Apocollapse]

What a nice new regulations by US government, this will make them able to earn Bitcoin for free! without need to spend a lot time and effort to claim every hour.

However, I wonder why when it comes to Bitcoin seizures, it's always be US that handle it? each country has it's own Bitcoin regulations, Bitcoin isn't a currency that can be used in there. I know there were few news about Bitcoin seizures in other countries and it's the local police that handle it, but there are related to clear cases e.g. scam and ponzi scheme.

[Bilal030665]

It's indeed concerning to see reports of the US government seizing Bitcoin assets and exerting control over a significant portion of the circulating supply. These actions raise questions about the balance between individual ownership and government authority in the realm of digital currencies. The concept of Bitcoin was founded on principles of decentralization and autonomy, yet incidents like these highlight the challenges it faces in the real world.

While governments have legitimate concerns about illicit activities involving cryptocurrencies, such as money laundering and terrorism financing, it's crucial that any measures taken to address these issues respect individuals' rights and the core tenets of privacy and property ownership. Transparency and accountability are paramount in ensuring that government actions in the cryptocurrency space are justified and ethical.

The idea of any single entity, especially a government, controlling a significant portion of a decentralized currency like Bitcoin raises red flags regarding centralization and manipulation. Such actions could potentially undermine the trust and credibility of the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem, affecting its long-term viability and adoption.

The notion of "blood money" associated with Bitcoin transactions involving seized assets underscores the ethical dilemmas posed by government interventions in the cryptocurrency market. It's essential for users to be aware of the origins of the assets they acquire and the implications of supporting entities involved in questionable practices.

As governments around the world navigate the complexities of regulating cryptocurrencies, finding a balance between safeguarding against illicit activities and preserving individual freedoms is paramount. Collaborative efforts between regulatory authorities, industry stakeholders, and the broader community are necessary to develop effective and fair policies that uphold the principles of decentralization and financial sovereignty.

In the face of government intervention and control, Bitcoin's resilience lies in its decentralized nature and the widespread adoption and support it enjoys from a diverse community of users, developers, and advocates worldwide. The inherent transparency and immutability of the blockchain provide a level of accountability that traditional financial systems often lack, offering a beacon of hope for those seeking alternatives to centralized authority.

While incidents of government seizure and control may cast a shadow over the cryptocurrency landscape, they also serve as a reminder of the importance of remaining vigilant and proactive in defending the principles of decentralization, privacy, and individual sovereignty. Ultimately, the future of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will be shaped by the collective actions and decisions of its users and supporters, who strive to uphold its founding principles in the face of adversity.

[thecodebear]

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/us-government-continues-bitcoin-seizures-controls-nearly-1-of-circulating-supply-

The US, after all, controls nearly 1% of a massive industry with substantial leverage over it. Are they going to be the only country with this leverage? It may be difficult for any nation to build up these stockpiles in secret, but even so, the race has already begun. No matter who wins it, it’s Bitcoin that will be on top in the end.


unfortunately it would appear that the usa governments hands are dirty and it has stolen peoples bitcoins, confiscated them, throwing people in jail and all kinds of things. enjoy your bitcoins you buy from uncle sam because it is blood money...

lol...stolen?? They literally confiscate it from criminals, people either who did illegal stuff to get bitcoin or who stole the bitcoin themselves. "throwing people in jail"...yeah cuz they were criminals who got caught. Very bizarre narrative you're trying to make.

Anyway I'm sure they will eventually sell all the bitcoin they have, as they always do. Or in the case of retrieving bitcoin from hackers presumably they will go through the courts to hand those bitcoin back to the people they were stolen from.

[hugeblack]

If the United States wanted to take over Bitcoin, it would not be difficult for them to print $2 trillion. I mean, they do that annually.
Also, the Bitcoins that are confiscated are resold in auctions within 2 to 5 years, and I do not think that the laws will allow them to keep them as a reserve. If that happens, Bitcoin is not a POS. Even if the United States were able to collect 2 million Bitcoins, it would not make any change other than increasing the value of Bitcoin.

[DeathAngel]

They’ll probably sell it to Blackrock on the cheap discretely. Just a mild conspiracy theory but it wouldn’t surprise me now that Spot ETFs are here. Bitcoin is now firmly planted in mainstream US finance & it’s going nowhere. If they really wanted to benefit from Bitcoin then the US Government should be holding that Bitcoin plus buying more to hedge against their forever devaluing fiat ponzi scheme aka the USD.

[temple]

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/us-government-continues-bitcoin-seizures-controls-nearly-1-of-circulating-supply-

The US, after all, controls nearly 1% of a massive industry with substantial leverage over it. Are they going to be the only country with this leverage? It may be difficult for any nation to build up these stockpiles in secret, but even so, the race has already begun. No matter who wins it, it’s Bitcoin that will be on top in the end.


unfortunately it would appear that the usa governments hands are dirty and it has stolen peoples bitcoins, confiscated them, throwing people in jail and all kinds of things. enjoy your bitcoins you buy from uncle sam because it is blood money...

I don't see how it would matter where you buy your BTC and you have no idea whether you ever bought from Uncle Sam or not. Whether they auction it in several lots publicly or whether they deposit it on some exchange and sell it there, it doesn't make a whole lot of a difference.

Apart from that, I doubt that they arbitrarily put people into jail. There have been some questionable cases for sure, but I would say the vast majority of confiscated BTC was rightfully confiscated according to existing law.

But one thing is clear here: BTC seizures have become a profitable business for government authorities. It's a many birds with one stone situation as they need to stock up their cybersecurity agencies anyway and they know they need to develop capabilities and capacities as they sector and its relevance will be growing further and further. Understanding how digital assets work, can be stored and hidden and used is a must no matter what. Pursuing cases like hacks and theft will be the bread and butter in the future and if they develop the understanding and the tools how to best locate and seize digital assets, they can grow their security agencies while financing the expansion with seizures. At the same time they gain influence over the most important financial network in the world.

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

japanese gov(courts) had control of more coin than US, and from just one source (mtgox bankruptcy)

https://bitcointreasuries.net/
https://bitcointreasuries.com/

These sites have different figures for Mt.Gox and they both don't list it as Japanese government. The first site has a figure of 141,686 BTC but the second site has a number of 200,000.

Even with 200,000 BTC, if it belongs to Japanese government, this number is still smaller than the USA. government with 215,000 BTC.

[franky1]

japanese gov(courts) had control of more coin than US, and from just one source (mtgox bankruptcy)

https://bitcointreasuries.net/
https://bitcointreasuries.com/

These sites have different figures for Mt.Gox and they both don't list it as Japanese government. The first site has a figure of 141,686 BTC but the second site has a number of 200,000.

Even with 200,000 BTC, if it belongs to Japanese government, this number is still smaller than the USA. government with 215,000 BTC.

from my memory the mtgox creditors wanted all payouts converted to BTC
this meant that the ~141k btc + dollar found + all forked coin airdrops get converted to BTC
(bankruptcy administrator buys btc with dollar and converts forked air-drops to btc to be a total far bigger then the ~141k btc base amount the bankruptcy found) so total BTC accumulated/held by bankruptcy administrator could be way higher than reported, but they have to release based on japanese gov(court order)

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

japanese gov(courts) had control of more coin than US, and from just one source (mtgox bankruptcy)

We cant have account on the previously seized assets, i don't see the reason why they needed to continue with the seizure when all they are doing is to confiscate the hackers and exchange funds to their own treasury, this is nothing than a corporate practice of corruption in a modern and advanced theft, theirs is more worse than the intended act of scam from exchanges and individuals.

[avikz]

. No matter who wins it, it’s Bitcoin that will be on top in the end.
[/i]

But it really matters who wins it. If the countries win in this game, it wouldn't really matter to commoners like us whether Bitcoin is at the top or not. Because then we will not be in a position to use it in our favour and the entire system will become centralised. It is definitely not ideal.

But countries like United States will continue to play their dirty games. Some Bitcoins they have seized, are from criminals and hackers so those should be fine. But if us is really snatching from the common people, then it's a matter of concern.

[franky1]

japanese gov(courts) had control of more coin than US, and from just one source (mtgox bankruptcy)

We cant have account on the previously seized assets, i don't see the reason why they needed to continue with the seizure when all they are doing is to confiscate the hackers and exchange funds to their own treasury, this is nothing than a corporate practice of corruption in a modern and advanced theft, theirs is more worse than the intended act of scam from exchanges and individuals.

if the government just takes coin, for no legal ethical reason.. then yea theft
but if someone else steal coin or uses coin in a crime and is then caught, where those coins are then seized by a gov/court..
or if a company files bankruptcy.. then its just admin/bureaucracy to take control of the coin and decide who deserves payouts later

japan courts had admin control of coin due to bankruptcy and finding previous stolen coin. they didnt just take it and sell it for themselves(like a tax). japan court is still DECADE LATER deciding on pay out dates to creditors. so SOME amount is going to be distributed out.. as with how fiat laws work

[Fiatless]

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/markets/us-government-continues-bitcoin-seizures-controls-nearly-1-of-circulating-supply-

The US, after all, controls nearly 1% of a massive industry with substantial leverage over it. Are they going to be the only country with this leverage? It may be difficult for any nation to build up these stockpiles in secret, but even so, the race has already begun. No matter who wins it, it’s Bitcoin that will be on top in the end.

Bitcoin is a viable Investment which entails that the US government is making the right decision to keep the coin. From time to time we have seen the government auction some of the confiscated coins to fund its crusade against crypto criminals and payment to people who have suffered from crypto scams. China would have had the opportunity to stockpile enough Bitcoin but they missed the opportunity when they started making anti Bitcoin policies.

unfortunately it would appear that the US governments hands are dirty and it has stolen peoples bitcoins, confiscated them, throwing people in jail and all kinds of things. enjoy your bitcoins you buy from uncle sam because it is blood money...

Most of the crypto currencies which the US government has seized were connected to fraud, hacks, or scams. I might not be correct, I don't know any case where the government confiscated people's funds without them being connected to criminal activities.

[alastantiger]

japan courts had admin control of coin due to bankruptcy and finding previous stolen coin. they didnt just take it and sell it for themselves(like a tax). japan court is still DECADE LATER deciding on pay out dates to creditors. so SOME amount is going to be distributed out.. as with how fiat laws work

This article says repayment date was October 31, 2023. They missed it. Although it is written in the article that they may ask for an extension of the deadline from the Tokyo District Court if they are unable to meet up, at this time, there is no new information on this. 

[kryptqnick]

The money they hold is not something they stole from people. It's the money confiscated from hackers (from people who actually stole it). The historical chart in the article shows that they're not accumulating coins to have some control over the market or whatever. They just confiscate illegally obtained coins from scams and hacks and regularly sell them on auctions. While it's true that they're holding 200k BTC, it's also likely that they will sell a significant amount, so even this 1% is temporary. Not to mention that 1% isn't that much.

[stompix]

unfortunately it would appear that the usa governments hands are dirty and it has stolen peoples bitcoins, confiscated them, throwing people in jail and all kinds of things. enjoy your bitcoins you buy from uncle sam because it is blood money...

Paranoia much?

So the coins they have seized from the Bitfinex hackers are dirty coins, they should have just left the hackers enjoy them , right?
The coins they got from James Zhong were against stolen coins, right? Or coins that a hacker got from Silk Road where legitimate gains in your opinion?
Why don't you open a petition, the government should not try to seize any of the FTX coins, they are SBF's coins, he duped people for it legally, they should not seize one coin to pay back the ones that lost money on it. Same for Celsius or MtGox, just let the scammers enjoy the benefits!

[NotATether]

unfortunately it would appear that the usa governments hands are dirty and it has stolen peoples bitcoins, confiscated them, throwing people in jail and all kinds of things.

You said it yourself. The US government does not want to keep its bitcoins because they want (what they call) "liquid cash". That's why they auction off their bitcoins like crazy, sometimes vastly deviating from the market price of Bitcoin at the time it is sold.

It's a good opportunity for arbitrage though. Either way, those USA bitcoins usually end up in the hands of exchanges. So it's not like the US is going to control an ever-increasing amount of bitcoin. As long as they keep auctioning it that is.

[DaveF]

unfortunately it would appear that the usa governments hands are dirty and it has stolen peoples bitcoins, confiscated them, throwing people in jail and all kinds of things.

You said it yourself. The US government does not want to keep its bitcoins because they want (what they call) "liquid cash". That's why they auction off their bitcoins like crazy, sometimes vastly deviating from the market price of Bitcoin at the time it is sold.

It's a good opportunity for arbitrage though. Either way, those USA bitcoins usually end up in the hands of exchanges. So it's not like the US is going to control an ever-increasing amount of bitcoin. As long as they keep auctioning it that is.

Auctions are like that sometimes you get great deals as the buyer, other times the seller is looking at you like you lost your mind that you paid that much for something.
Government auctions are even more wonky because of the mixture of stuff that may be in it.
Cars, other vehicles and parts, tents, some BTC, snow removal equipment, all being auctioned on the same day at the same site.
We like to think that people are going to show up for the BTC, but more people might be interested in the cars.

On that note, anyone near Waco, TX who wants a good deal on a scrap Beechcraft?
https://www.gsaauctions.gov/auctions/preview/275409

-Dave

[larry_vw_1955]

lol...stolen?? They literally confiscate it from criminals, people either who did illegal stuff to get bitcoin or who stole the bitcoin themselves. "throwing people in jail"...yeah cuz they were criminals who got caught.

you don't know that for sure though.

Apart from that, I doubt that they arbitrarily put people into jail. There have been some questionable cases for sure, but I would say the vast majority of confiscated BTC was rightfully confiscated according to existing law.

i don't know that to be the case to be honest. i have no way of knowing that.

But one thing is clear here: BTC seizures have become a profitable business for government authorities.

now that i do agree with because it seems reasonable.

So the coins they have seized from the Bitfinex hackers are dirty coins, they should have just left the hackers enjoy them , right?

yes, probably so. the same thing that happens with someone who loses their private key there is no refund, no passing go no collecting $200. sorry if you don't see it that way.

The coins they got from James Zhong were against stolen coins, right? Or coins that a hacker got from Silk Road where legitimate gains in your opinion?

people should be responsible for securing their bitcoin that's the premise of bitcoin if not then don't use it but if you want to use it then accept the risks and act accordingly.

Why don't you open a petition, the government should not try to seize any of the FTX coins, they are SBF's coins, he duped people for it legally, they should not seize one coin to pay back the ones that lost money on it. Same for Celsius or MtGox, just let the scammers enjoy the benefits!

that's right. you can let him go free and he will be an example of what happens when people are dumb and trust someone else with their bitcoin. that way they learn not to do it again.

when are people going to understand that once bitcoin is transferred to a new address, there is no reversing it. and there is a new owner. all the bitcoin miners have to go with that and the government can't reverse it no matter what they do because if they could, which seems to be something you would agree with, then they would be taking complete control of bitcoin and it would not be decentralized anymore.