The fate of 61,900 coins worth $BTC is entering the countdown: Chinese court accepts application to dispose of assets
Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court announced that on September 28 it accepted an application for the judicial disposal of crypto assets involved in the Qian Zhimin case. The target is 61,896.41552945 $BTC , worth about $5 billion at current prices, along with $XRP and a batch of other coins, including $DOGE . The Paper first reported the news on October 14, and multiple English-language media outlets followed up with corroborating reports, making it essentially confirmed. Combined with the October 12 ruling by the High Court of London that Chinese law applies to the ownership dispute, the path for victims to directly reclaim the coins has largely been blocked. The coins will most likely ultimately be disposed of by Chinese judicial authorities.
Put simply, this isn’t a market-moving event today; it’s a sword hanging over $BTC . It’s standard practice for sovereign governments to sell off large amounts of seized coins—Germany sold 50,000 coins in 2024, and the US has done plenty of the same. The 61,900 coins account for about 0.3% of the circulating supply. If the disposal process really proceeds, the order book is bound to feel it. The market hasn’t priced it in yet in the short term, but with every step forward in the legal process, this “potential selling pressure” moves from rumor to confirmed fact. Two things to watch next: when the disposal ruling is issued, and whether the enforcement plan includes a sale clause. Those will determine whether these coins end up hitting the market.
Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court announced that on September 28 it accepted an application for the judicial disposal of crypto assets involved in the Qian Zhimin case. The target is 61,896.41552945 $BTC , worth about $5 billion at current prices, along with $XRP and a batch of other coins, including $DOGE . The Paper first reported the news on October 14, and multiple English-language media outlets followed up with corroborating reports, making it essentially confirmed. Combined with the October 12 ruling by the High Court of London that Chinese law applies to the ownership dispute, the path for victims to directly reclaim the coins has largely been blocked. The coins will most likely ultimately be disposed of by Chinese judicial authorities.
Put simply, this isn’t a market-moving event today; it’s a sword hanging over $BTC . It’s standard practice for sovereign governments to sell off large amounts of seized coins—Germany sold 50,000 coins in 2024, and the US has done plenty of the same. The 61,900 coins account for about 0.3% of the circulating supply. If the disposal process really proceeds, the order book is bound to feel it. The market hasn’t priced it in yet in the short term, but with every step forward in the legal process, this “potential selling pressure” moves from rumor to confirmed fact. Two things to watch next: when the disposal ruling is issued, and whether the enforcement plan includes a sale clause. Those will determine whether these coins end up hitting the market.