Finland is looking for brokers to sell $80 million worth of seized bitcoins.
The customs authority in Finland is searching for brokers to sell 1,981 bitcoins seized in drug cases. Currently, the coins are valued approximately $80 million.
Finland's customs authority stated on Thursday that it is looking brokers to sell 1,981 bitcoins confiscated in drug arrests, according to Bloomberg, noting that the coins were forfeited to the state by court order.
The bitcoin stockpile is worth $78.75 million at the time of writing.
The majority of the coins collected were gathered in searches prior to 2018. In the same year, the Finnish State Treasury issued instructions for dealing with crypto assets. It made it illegal for governments to store cryptocurrencies on exchanges and required them to keep the coins offline.
The authorities want a permanent method to “safely and reliably” sell cryptocurrency lost to the public coffers in the future, according to Pekka Pylkkanen, director of finance management at Finnish Customs. The customs agency said in a statement:
Finnish Customs' major goal is to ensure that cryptocurrencies are sold in a secure manner, preventing money laundering and illegal activity.
Finnish Customs has announced that it could sign an agreement with up to three brokers to sell seized bitcoins, the publication conveyed, adding that the agency anticipates “more cryptocurrency seizures.”
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