Finland's customs authority is looking to sell bitcoin seized in 2016, now worth more than $75 million

Finland's customs authority, Tulli, is looking to sell 1,981 bitcoins, local public broadcaster Yle reported the news on Thursday.

The majority of the seized bitcoins (1,666) were confiscated in 2016 via the arrest of Finnish drug dealer Douppikauppa. The bitcoins were worth about $860,000 at the time of confiscation, and now they are valued at more than $75 million.

Tulli is looking to sell the bitcoins directly or via a broker, CFO Pekka Pylkkanen told Yle. The collected amount will be sent to Finland's Ministry of Finance.

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Back in 2018, Tulli was looking to sell the bitcoins through auction but didn't go ahead with that plan because it was concerned that the cryptocurrency would end up back in criminal hands.

Now that bitcoin's price has skyrocketed, Tulli wants to liquidate the seized assets "as soon as possible, in the coming months." Pylkkanen said: "I don't see a reason to sort this out more. Nothing will change by waiting longer."

Bitcoin is currently trading at around $38,250, according to TradingView.

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.