JUST IN: 🇨🇳 China's local governments sell 15,000 Bitcoin worth $1.25 billion via offshore private entities: Reuters. pic.twitter.com/N7L5b8PxNi
— Whale Insider (@WhaleInsider) April 16, 2025
🚨BREAKING: 🇨🇳China is selling seized crypto, despite its trading ban — Reuters reports.
Local governments are using private firms to sell crypto for cash to fund public budgets.
China reportedly holds 194,000 BTC (~$16B), making China the 2nd largest holder just behind the…
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) April 16, 2025
Local governments throughout China have quietly sold some 15,000 Bitcoin, worth about $1.25 billion, through offshore private companies amid the country’s severe economic downturn. This secret sale of confiscated cryptocurrency assets is quickly becoming a vital, albeit contentious, lifeline for local public coffers.
Since cryptocurrency trading and exchanges are illegal in China, this move is contentious. The country’s law enforcement agencies continued to confiscate digital assets after the ban as part of their extensive campaigns against illegal gambling, money laundering, and online fraud.
China possessed almost 15,000 Bitcoin by the end of 2023, making it the second-largest national Bitcoin holder globally after the United States. The assets were worth $1.4 billion; their increased value has since begun providing major income for underfunded city governments.