Finland’s customs authority is looking to sell bitcoin seized in 2016, now worth more than $75 million
Finland’s customs authority, Tulli, is looking to sell 1,981 bitcoins, local public broadcaster Yle reported the news on Thursday.
The majority of the seized bitcoins (1,666) were confiscated in 2016 via the arrest of Finnish drug dealer Douppikauppa. The bitcoins were worth about $860,000 at the time of confiscation, and now they are valued at more than $75 million.
Tulli is looking to sell the bitcoins directly or via a broker, CFO Pekka Pylkkanen told Yle. The collected amount will be sent to Finland’s Ministry of Finance.
Back in 2018, Tulli was looking to sell the bitcoins through auction but didn’t go ahead with that plan because it was concerned that the cryptocurrency would end up back in criminal hands.
Now that bitcoin’s price has skyrocketed, Tulli wants to liquidate the seized assets “as soon as possible, in the coming months.” Pylkkanen said: “I don’t see a reason to sort this out more. Nothing will change by waiting longer.”
Bitcoin is currently trading at around $38,250, according to TradingView.
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Author: Yogita Khatri
