Despite the widespread ban on crypto assets, China had inadvertently become a “crypto whale” because of its vast holdings, which could wipe out the entire crypto market in moments.
The Chinese government now has more bitcoin holdings than MicroStrategy or Elon Musk’s Tesla, Inc. after confiscating a large amount of Bitcoin and Ethereum from the PlusToken Scam in 2019, according to crypto journalist Paulo A. José report on November 13th.
China Holds 194k Bitcoins, 833k Ethereum
Ki Young Ju, the CEO and founder of CryptoQuant, the blockchain data analytics platform, published this list of the top 13 public companies with the most Bitcoin holdings on November 2nd.
Chinese authorities seized 194k BTC, 833k ETH, and others from the PlusToken scam in 2019. They forfeited these $6 billion-worth assets to the national treasury. FWIW, MicroStrategy has 130k BTC.
FUN FACT: Government of China🇨🇳 is a crypto whale.
Chinese authorities seized 194k BTC, 833k ETH, and others from the PlusToken scam in 2019. They forfeited these $6 billion-worth assets to the national treasury.
FWIW, MicroStrategy has 130k $BTC. pic.twitter.com/Ilqp7EnenL
— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) November 2, 2022
China will be one of the largest shareholders with nearly 200,000 Bitcoins, owning nearly 1% of all Bitcoins already in circulation.
In the past, China has not been supportive of cryptocurrency markets. In 2021, The Government even banned Bitcoin mining here.
China Is Not Only The ‘Crypto Whale’
Bulgaria is also a cryptocurrency whale. The Bulgarian government broke ties with a crypto-crime ring and confiscated 200,000 Bitcoins in 2017.
Related Reading | Crypto Exchanges Share Proof Of Reserve To Combat Mistrust
Since law enforcement agencies began dismantling an organized crime network in May 2017, the country was sitting on a pot of gold. These bitcoins would be enough to cover a quarter of the national debt.
These bitcoins would be enough to cover a quarter of the national debt.
It is still being determined whether the authorities only found Bitcoin or they had access to this stash of money, which is now worth billions. If it is the latter, then Bulgaria may be a bigger crypto whale than China.
Comments (No)