Drug dealer's $378 million Bitcoin seized by Irish bureau.

The Mystery of Ireland’s Seized Bitcoin

Bitcoin, the popular Cryptocurrency, has been making headlines due to its soaring value in recent years. One particular case that has caught the attention of many is the story of Ireland’s Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) holding Bitcoin seized from a drug Dealer back in 2019. The value of the Digital assets has risen to an eye-watering €345 million ($378 million), but there’s a catch – the CAB has been unable to access it.

The Backstory

Back in 2020, the CAB confiscated the Bitcoin, which was valued at around $56 million at the time, from Clifton Collins. The seizure followed a ruling by Ireland’s High Court that deemed the Cryptocurrency as the proceeds of criminal activity. Collins had initially acquired the Bitcoin in 2011 using profits from his drug business, when the cryptocurrency was trading between $0.30 and $29. It ended the year at $4.72.

Collins claimed that he hid the document containing the seed phrases for his BTC Wallets in a fishing rod case at a rented property in Co Galway. However, after a break-in at his home and subsequent property clear-out following his arrest, the document was lost. As a result, the CAB has been unable to access the Bitcoin, which is stored in 12 wallets, for the past four years.

The Implications

According to a recent article in The Irish Times, the increased value of Bitcoin during this time has made the seized assets even more valuable. With the Price of Bitcoin skyrocketing from around $9,000 to over $62,000, the unrecoverable Bitcoin has become a sought-after treasure for the CAB.

In its annual report, the CAB disclosed that it had recovered €1.2 million ($1.3 million) in assets from Collins, including 89 Bitcoin, along with a variety of items such as a fishing boat, gyro plane, metal detector, electric bicycle, and various motor vehicles.

Seized Bitcoin Around the World

The story of Ireland’s seized Bitcoin is just one among many similar cases where governments have confiscated digital assets in criminal investigations. Here are a few notable instances:

• The German government recently sold approximately €2.6 billion ($2.9 billion) worth of Bitcoin seized in a money laundering probe, causing the price of Bitcoin to drop as it flooded the Market.
• The U.S. government is preparing to sell a $4.4 billion stash of Bitcoin seized from the dark web Marketplace Silk Road, following a Supreme Court decision regarding its Ownership.
• In 2020, the U.S. Marshals auctioned off 4,041 BTC forfeited from various criminal, civil, and administrative cases. At the time, the stash was worth around $40 million, but would have been valued at over $250 million at current prices.

Seized Bitcoin assets have proven to be a lucrative income stream for governments worldwide and continue to attract attention as the value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin continues to rise.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.