The United Kingdom, which currently holds more than 60,000 bitcoin (BTC), should convert these holdings into reserves and make them part of the nation's treasury, according to the Bitcoin Policy UK institute.

In a working paper released this week, the entity urges the authorities of the European country to consider the best ways to use the thousands of BTC that the nation has had under custody since January of this year.

According to BitcoinTreasures, the UK is holding at least 61,000 bitcoins, valued at USD 4.125 billion, which were seized in January of this year , according to what the global BTC holdings tracking site says.

For Bitcoin Policy UK, one of the ways to best use these holdings is to keep them as a Treasury reserve. They recalled that it is a “strategically important” amount of BTC and that this sum positions the United Kingdom as the third country with the most Bitcoin units stored, only behind the United States and China.

According to the institution, holding Bitcoin in the UK's reserves as a reserve asset would “digitally complement the nation's physical gold reserves,” which have been declining in recent years, hovering around 310.3 tonnes.

The idea of ​​holding Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset is already being floated in the United States, with presidential candidate Donald Trump planning to announce such an initiative as a campaign promise. Senator Cynthia Lummis could also announce that she is working on a law that would order the Federal Reserve to buy and hold BTC.

However, according to Bitcoin Policy, the UK is currently “doing very little to safeguard or preserve the value of this state-held strategic reserve.”

As they see it, the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) policy towards bitcoin "has alienated businesses and jobs." 

“And the attitude of the Treasury under the previous administration, classifying BTC as gambling, demonstrated that the UK had no understanding of the industry and the asset at all,” the organization questioned.

The UK has over 60,000 bitcoins in custody. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.

Other measures

The body, which promotes the adoption of bitcoin policies in the United Kingdom, urges the authorities in that country to also implement other policies that lead the nation to be a “global leader” in the bitcoin industry.

These include allowing businesses and BTC holders to “operate freely in the UK, with access to bank accounts and in a favourable regulatory environment.”

Another measure is to carry out “feasibility studies” related to the opportunities offered by Bitcoin mining, especially “to achieve the UK’s net zero emissions goals.”

“Bitcoin mining has the potential to monetize new renewable energy plants from the early stages of their lifecycle and to stabilize renewable energy grids as a buyer of stranded and wasted energy, providing the highly flexible demand response that sustainable energy grids require, along with storage solutions.”

Bitcoin Policy UK.

According to Bitcoin Policy UK, the United Kingdom, based on the BTC it holds in custody and if it decides to change its position on this asset, can take advantage of the strategic geopolitical importance that bitcoin is acquiring.

As they see it, the UK “has the opportunity to be a leader, not a follower.” Although the opportunity to do so “is receding,” according to the organization.