The Bulgaria became the first country in the history in which the reserves of bitcoin outperform gold. It is estimated that the country has around 213,000 bitcoins, which is equal to US$ 2.1 billion. Yet the amount of gold reaches US$ 1.8 billion, equivalent to 40 tons.
However, it is not known how much of that value is actually owned by the Government. The open question was introduced because in 2017 the Bulgarian authorities seized this amount of bitcoins from a criminal organization in the country. The group was involved in corruption schemes of customs systems in Macedonia, Hellenic Republic, Romania and Serbia.
Since then, information about the whereabouts of those bitcoins was not disclosed. One of the rumors is that the Bulgarian Interior Ministry had sold the stock to finance a new squad of the air force. However, this hypothesis has already been disregarded.
However, as the Government remains reluctant to reveal the fate of the cryptocurrencies, it suggests that they probably still hold the amount. Official statements given so far were inconclusive and do not indicate any possible answer about the bitcoins. The information was released by the Diario Bitcoin.
Bitcoins at the central banks?
The case of Bulgaria leads to a discussion that has for long permeates the market of digital assets. Several governments are seriously considering the CDCs (centralized digital currencies) as national digital currencies to be issued and controlled by the central banks. The Russia and the United Arab Emirates are currently at the forefront of this trend.
On the other hand, the United States officially remains reserved due to privacy issues which may represent a significant challenge for the banks. What is questioned in this sense is not only if the central banks will keep digital currencies in the near future. In addition to that, there is a discussion about whether the decentralized money can soon become centralized.
