Swedish Government to Return $1.5 Million in Bitcoin to Drug Dealer

Due to the fluctuating price of the cryptocurrency, the authorities are now forced to reimburse the bitcoin they confiscated two years ago. 

The Case

Two years ago, the Swedish Enforcement Authority seized 36 bitcoins, worth roughly $136,000, from a local drug dealer. 

The prosecutor Tove Kullberg, however, used the monetary equivalent of the cryptocurrency when presenting the case in court. 

While the price of bitcoin kept growing, the recorded amount confiscated remained the same. 

Consequently, the authorities could only keep and auction off 3 coins. 

Unfortunate Turn of Events

The Swedish Enforcement Authority now has to reimburse 33 bitcoin, worth more than $1.5 million dollars, to the drug dealer.

The prosecutor himself acknowledged his mistake. 

“I think we should probably invest in an internal education in the authority, as cryptocurrency will be a factor we’ll be dealing with to a much greater extent than we are today. The more we increase the level of knowledge within the organization, the fewer mistakes we will make,” he said.

The Statistics

Nowadays, more and more people are turning to crypto exchanges to buy and trade. Statistics also show that:

• Currently, there are more than 18.3 million Bitcoins in existence.
• Experts claim that the market size for cryptocurrency will reach $1087.7 million by 2026.
• At the time of writing, the bitcoin price is $47,896.65.