Gordon Brown Moment for Bitcoin? UK Allegedly Plans £5B BTC Offload

UK May Sell £5B in Bitcoin to Tackle Budget Shortfall, Drawing Parallels to Historic Gold Sale

July 21, 2025 — The UK government is reportedly considering liquidating up to £5 billion worth of Bitcoin seized in criminal investigations, a move that is already drawing comparisons to Gordon Brown’s controversial gold sale over two decades ago.

According to The Telegraph, officials from the Home Office and the Treasury are in active discussions over whether to offload a significant portion of the country’s crypto holdings to help address a projected £20 billion budget gap. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is said to be reviewing the potential sale as part of broader efforts to improve the fiscal outlook without introducing new taxes.

The government’s crypto reserves include Bitcoin confiscated during a 2018 crackdown on a Chinese Ponzi scheme, which yielded over 61,000 BTC — now worth more than £5.4 billion at current market prices.

While the sale could generate immediate liquidity, critics warn it may echo one of the most infamous missteps in UK financial history. Between 1999 and 2002, then-Chancellor Gordon Brown sold off nearly 400 tonnes of gold at an average price of $275 per ounce — just before gold entered a historic bull market. That gold is now valued at over $3,300 per ounce.

With Bitcoin currently trading near all-time highs — around £90,000 — some argue this may be a more opportune time to sell. Others caution that divesting a long-term appreciating asset like BTC, especially amid rising institutional adoption and constrained supply, could prove shortsighted.

“This isn’t 1999 — Bitcoin is liquid, near record highs, and the sale involves seized assets, not national reserves,” one senior official noted. “Still, the optics matter.”

If the proposal proceeds, it would mark one of the largest crypto liquidations ever conducted by a sovereign government. The debate highlights growing tensions between short-term fiscal needs and long-term asset management strategies in the digital era.

Whether this sale becomes a strategic win or another “Brown Bottom” moment may only be clear years from now — but for now, the UK appears ready to turn Bitcoin into budget relief.