British Government Considers Bitcoin (BTC) Sale to Cover Budget Shortfall

The British government is considering selling billions worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to help cover a budget shortfall.

Elevate Your Investing Strategy:

Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week.

Facing a budget hole of 20 billion pounds (US$27 billion), the government is working with police to possibly sell five billion pounds worth of seized Bitcoin, according to media reports. The price of BTC is currently at $118,500, having risen 25% so far in 2025.

Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer in the United Kingdom (U.K.), is said to be keen on selling seized Bitcoin to help cover the budget gap, especially with the cryptocurrency trading near $120,000 per digital token, not far from an all-time high.

Critics Pounce

While it’s uncertain how much Bitcoin the U.K. government currently controls, one raid back in 2018 recovered 61,000 Bitcoin from a Chinese Ponzi scheme. At current prices, that one hoard would be worth a little more than five billion pounds.

Reports of the possible Bitcoin sale have raised criticisms among crypto bulls, who say that a major sale by the U.K. government could roil prices worldwide. Critics also point to the fact that Bitcoin’s price is up more than 1,000% over the past five years and is expected to continue rising in the near term, urging the British government to hold onto its digital assets.

Is BTC a Buy?

Most Wall Street firms don’t offer ratings or price targets on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, so we’ll look instead at its three-month performance. As one can see in the chart below, the price of BTC has risen 26.88% in the last 12 weeks.