Asset Forfeiture and Crypto Seizures by Country: Who’s Seizing What and Why

When the U.S. government quietly added 207,000 Bitcoin to its holdings in March 2025, it wasn’t buying on the open market. It was taking possession of stolen, laundered, and forfeited crypto - and storing it as a sovereign reserve. This wasn’t just a big haul. It was a policy revolution.

For years, seized cryptocurrency was sold off quickly to avoid market disruption. Now, the U.S. is holding onto it. Why? Because holding Bitcoin isn’t just about money anymore. It’s about national strategy. And other countries are watching - and copying.

How Crypto Seizures Work - And Why They’re So Hard

Crypto seizures aren’t like grabbing cash from a drug dealer. You can’t cuff a wallet. You can’t freeze a private key with a court order alone. To seize Bitcoin or Ethereum, law enforcement needs either:

• Access to the private key (often through a suspect’s device or a compromised exchange)
• Control over the wallet through a court-ordered freeze on a regulated exchange
• Proof that the asset was used in a crime - like money laundering, ransomware, or darknet market transactions

Once seized, the asset is moved to a government-controlled wallet. In the U.S., that’s now the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Other countries are still figuring out how to store these assets securely. Some use cold storage. Others outsource to third-party custodians with government oversight.

It’s not just Bitcoin. NFTs, DeFi tokens, and even stablecoins like USDC are now fair game. In 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice seized a collection of 1,200 NFTs linked to a ransomware gang. Courts ruled they were proceeds of crime - just like a stolen car or a fake Rolex.

The U.S. Leads - But Not How You Think

The U.S. leads the world in crypto seizures by value. In the first half of 2025 alone, American agencies recovered over $1.3 billion in digital assets. But here’s the twist: the U.S. isn’t just seizing more. It’s keeping more.

The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, launched in March 2025, holds over 207,000 BTC. That’s about 1% of all Bitcoin ever mined. The reserve isn’t meant to be sold. It’s meant to be held - as a hedge against inflation, a funding source for future investigations, and a tool to stabilize markets. Selling all that Bitcoin at once would crash prices. Holding it lets the government benefit from price appreciation while still using small amounts to pay victims or fund operations.

The SEC and CFTC also changed their game. Instead of just fining exchanges, they now work with them. Coinbase and Circle are publicly traded. New rules force stablecoin issuers to hold 1:1 reserves. KYC and AML rules are tighter than ever. The goal? Make it harder for criminals to move crypto - and easier for law enforcement to track it.

Who Else Is Seizing Crypto - And How?

Germany seized over $380 million in crypto in 2025, mostly Ethereum and stablecoins. Their approach? Close collaboration with Europol and the U.S. Treasury. German police now have dedicated crypto forensics units trained to trace transactions on the blockchain.

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) seized over $290 million, mostly from unlicensed exchanges. Japan has some of the strictest licensing rules in the world. Any exchange operating without FSA approval is shut down - and its assets frozen.

Spain’s Guardia Civil made headlines in 2025 when they partnered with the FBI to track down a $150 million crypto laundering ring based in Eastern Europe. The operation used blockchain analytics tools to trace transactions from a darknet marketplace to wallets in Spain, then to a crypto mixer in Moldova. The mixers were shut down. The wallets were seized.

Russia? They don’t seize crypto for law enforcement. They seize it for the state. In 2025, Russian authorities confiscated over $220 million in Bitcoin from individuals who tried to move money out of the country. The government doesn’t return it. It just keeps it - no court order needed.

Canada, the UK, and Australia are following the U.S. model. They’re setting up digital asset reserves. They’re hiring blockchain analysts. They’re training judges to understand smart contracts.

Where Crypto Theft Is Worst - And Who’s Most Vulnerable

Seizures only happen because crimes happen. And in 2025, crypto theft hit record levels. Over $2.17 billion was stolen in the first six months - more than all of 2024.

The top victim countries by total theft: United States, Germany, Russia, Canada, Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea. But the real shock? The UAE, Chile, India, Lithuania, Iran, Israel, and Norway. These countries have the highest value stolen per victim. Why? Because their users hold large amounts of crypto - often in self-custody wallets with weak security.

North America leads in Bitcoin and altcoin theft. Europe leads in Ethereum and stablecoin theft. Why? Because Europeans use DeFi and stablecoins more. Attackers target liquidity pools, not just wallets.

Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia saw the fastest growth in thefts from 2024 to 2025. That’s not because people there are careless. It’s because organized crime groups are moving in. Cybercriminals from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus are targeting users in Moldova, Georgia, and Kazakhstan - places with weak enforcement and high crypto adoption.

Sub-Saharan Africa? Lowest theft value. Not because people don’t use crypto. Because most users have small balances. A $500 theft is huge there. But globally, it doesn’t move the needle.

Legal Chaos - Some Countries Ban It, Others Embrace It

There’s no global rulebook. What’s legal in one country is a felony in another.

In Mauritius, crypto is a regulated asset. You can trade, hold, and invest. But if you’re hacked? Tough luck. No government compensation.

In South Africa, Bitcoin isn’t legal tender. The central bank says it’s just “an intangible asset.” But the tax office taxes it like property. Seizures happen - but only if linked to tax fraud or money laundering.

Angola allows crypto. No laws ban it. But officials warn citizens not to use it. The government doesn’t enforce anything. So seizures? Almost none.

Namibia banned crypto exchanges in 2017. No trading. No payments. If you try to use Bitcoin there, your bank can freeze your account. Seizures aren’t needed - the system blocks it before it starts.

Ukraine leads the world in crypto adoption - not because it’s rich, but because it’s desperate. After the war started, crypto became a lifeline. The government doesn’t seize it. It encourages it. In 2025, Ukraine launched its own crypto donation platform to fund defense. Seizures? Only for war criminals.

What’s Next? The Global Race to Control Crypto

The big shift isn’t just about seizing crypto. It’s about owning it.

The U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve isn’t a one-off. It’s a blueprint. Countries with strong rule of law - Canada, Germany, Japan - are building their own. Countries with weak institutions - like Venezuela and Zimbabwe - are using crypto seizures to fund state operations without transparency.

Expect more international operations. More blockchain forensics. More courts recognizing NFTs as property. More exchanges forced to freeze wallets on government request.

And don’t be surprised if, in the next two years, you see a country sell gold to buy more Bitcoin - not to invest, but to fill its reserve. The U.S. is already considering it.

One thing’s clear: Crypto isn’t just money anymore. It’s power. And the countries that learn how to control it - without crashing the market - will lead the next financial era.