Amid talk that the US could create a strategic reserve of bitcoins, there is increasing talk about which governments already hold the largest reserves of bitcoins. Here's a detailed look at the top five governments with the largest bitcoin holdings as of December 2024.
In the secret repositories of the US, China and other governments. Many people may be surprised to learn that several countries hold significant reserves of bitcoins, many of which were obtained through asset seizures.
However, some countries have gone the opposite route, actively buying bitcoins for their treasuries or mining them themselves.
The United States led the way with 199,172 bitcoins, according to onchain data from timechainindex.com. As of Dec. 8, 2024, the U.S. government's bitcoin holdings are valued at $20 billion.
The funds were seized in a number of criminal cases related to the infamous 2016 Bitfinex hack, the Darknet Silk Road market and several other asset seizures.
Chinese bitcoin assets are slightly behind US ones. Authorities are believed to have seized 194,775 BTC from criminals linked to the Plustoken Ponzi scheme. Today, that volume is estimated at approximately $19.4 billion.
The UK government has also created a stockpile of bitcoins, thanks to one particular criminal case. It currently holds 61,245 bitcoins, worth a total of $6.11 billion. The bitcoins were seized from Jiming Qian, a Chinese national involved in massive fraud and money laundering.
The top five countries with the most bitcoins are the United States, China, the United Kingdom, the Royal Government of Bhutan and El Salvador.
The Royal Government of Bhutan, through its investment arm Druk Holdings, holds an impressive 12,211 bitcoins worth $1.2 billion. Unlike other countries, Bhutan has not confiscated its bitcoins; instead, it is actively mining them.
On September 7, 2021, El Salvador made history as the first country to accept bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender. The move was aimed at expanding access to financial services, reducing the cost of remittances and attracting investment from the global crypto community. As part of its strategy, the government of El Salvador has been steadily increasing its bitcoin holdings, reportedly buying one BTC every day since November 2022. To date, El Salvador's bitcoin stockpile of 5,958 BTC is valued at $594 million at current exchange rates.
As discussions about bitcoin's strategic reserves gain momentum around the world, the idea is catching the attention of policymakers. However, aside from El Salvador and Bhutan, no other country has publicly expressed interest in maintaining its own cryptocurrency reserves.
And recently the US government sold almost 20,000 BTC, sending some of the funds to Coinbase. Germany, unshakable, has sold about 50,000 BTC this year.
It should also be noted that so far no country in the world is creating reserves in cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin. It's also worth keeping in mind that some countries hold bitcoin reserves without advertising it. The DPRK, Iran, Saudi Arabia and other countries are reliably known to have large accumulations of bitcoins.