China Government Holds 194,000 BTC, Making It One of the Largest Crypto Whales
Ki Young Ju, the Chief Executive of crypto analytical platform CryptoQuant, has revealed on Twitter that the Chinese government is a significant holder of Bitcoin. According to Ki, China authorities seized 194,000 BTC from the PlusToken scam in 2019 and currently holds $6 billion worth of digital assets in its national treasury. This makes China’s Bitcoin holdings larger than MicroStrategy’s stack of 130,000 BTC. Despite China’s reputation as being anti-crypto, it seems that owning these assets gives the government leverage and control over the crypto markets. The Chinese government’s BTC holdings may diversify its portfolio and allow them to profit from the market. Other governments, such as the US, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and El Salvador, have also been identified as large holders of Bitcoin. However, it is not clear whether China authorities have sold or disposed of their confiscated cryptocurrencies.