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

When the U.S. government announced in March 2025 that it was creating the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, it wasn’t just a policy tweak-it was a seismic shift in how the world handles stolen crypto. For the first time, a major nation stopped selling seized Bitcoin and started holding it. Over 207,000 BTC, worth roughly $17 billion, were locked into a sovereign asset pool. No more dumping coins on the market. No more panic-driven price crashes. Just strategic retention-like holding gold, but digital.

Why Governments Are Seizing Crypto

Cryptocurrency isn’t just for traders and tech enthusiasts anymore. It’s a tool for criminals. In the first half of 2025 alone, over $2.17 billion was stolen from exchanges, wallets, and DeFi platforms-more than the entire year of 2024. That’s not a typo. The scale of theft is growing faster than law enforcement can keep up.

But here’s the thing: crypto leaves a trail. Even if it’s moved through mixers, bridges, or anonymous wallets, blockchain analysis tools can track movement patterns. Governments now have access to software that connects wallet addresses to real-world identities. When a hacker drains a crypto exchange, investigators don’t just chase IP addresses-they trace the flow of coins across chains, exchanges, and even NFT marketplaces.

That’s why seizures are no longer rare. They’re routine. The U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI’s Cyber Division, and the IRS Criminal Investigation unit now have dedicated crypto forfeiture teams. The UK’s National Crime Agency, Germany’s Bundeskriminalamt, and Canada’s RCMP all run similar operations. And it’s not just Bitcoin. Ethereum, stablecoins like USDC and USDT, and even NFTs are now fair game for seizure if they’re tied to fraud, ransomware, or money laundering.

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

The United States leads the world in crypto seizures, not because it has the most crime, but because it has the most tools. Federal agencies have clear legal authority under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (CAFRA) and the Money Laundering Control Act. Courts have consistently ruled that crypto is property-just like cash, cars, or real estate. That means it can be seized without a criminal conviction, as long as there’s probable cause it’s connected to illegal activity.

But the real game-changer is the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Instead of auctioning off seized coins immediately, the Treasury now holds them. Why? Three reasons:

• To avoid crashing the market by flooding it with seized BTC
• To use appreciation as a revenue source-some of these coins were bought for under $10,000 each and are now worth over $80,000
• To fund future investigations-proceeds from future sales go back into cybercrime units

This isn’t speculation. The Treasury’s 2025 budget document explicitly lists the Reserve as a “non-traditional asset class” that supports national security objectives. And it’s working. In 2025, the U.S. recovered over $1.3 billion in crypto assets-nearly half of all global seizures.

Europe’s Quiet but Powerful Push

While the U.S. makes headlines, Europe is quietly building one of the most sophisticated enforcement networks. The Spanish Guardia Civil, working with the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), executed one of the largest cross-border crypto takedowns in 2025. They seized over 12,000 ETH and $45 million in USDC from a network linked to ransomware gangs in Eastern Europe.

Germany is another leader. The Bundesbank now requires all crypto exchanges operating in the country to report suspicious transactions in real time. The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has created a centralized crypto registry that flags high-risk wallets. They don’t need to seize coins to stop crime-they can freeze them remotely.

France and the Netherlands have taken it further. Both countries now require exchanges to implement “on-chain compliance” tools that automatically block transactions to known criminal addresses. It’s not perfect-but it’s reducing the flow of stolen funds into the system.

Who’s Getting Hit the Most?

Crime doesn’t care about borders. But it does care about convenience. The countries with the highest number of crypto theft victims in 2025 were:

• United States
• Germany
• Russia
• Canada
• Japan
• Indonesia
• South Korea

But victim count doesn’t tell the whole story. Some countries have fewer victims-but each one loses way more. The UAE, Chile, India, Lithuania, Iran, Israel, and Norway had the highest average loss per victim. Why? Because these places have high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors who hold large, concentrated wallets. Hackers target them like bank vaults.

Regionally, North America leads in Bitcoin and altcoin theft. Europe leads in Ethereum and stablecoin theft. Why? Because Europe’s DeFi market is bigger, and stablecoins are used more widely for payments and remittances. That makes them more attractive to criminals looking for liquidity.

Where Crypto Is Legal-But Still Risky

Just because a country allows crypto doesn’t mean it protects you. In Mauritius, cryptocurrencies are regulated under the Financial Services Act 2007. But the government makes it clear: if you lose your coins to a scam, you’re on your own. No compensation. No recourse.

South Africa takes a different approach. The Reserve Bank says crypto has “no legal status,” but the tax office treats it as an intangible asset. That means if you sell seized Bitcoin, you owe capital gains tax-even if the government took it from you.

Then there’s Angola. Crypto is legal. No laws ban it. But government officials warn citizens not to use it. No clear rules. No enforcement. Just silence.

Namibia is the opposite. The Bank of Namibia outright banned crypto exchanges in 2017. No trading. No payments. No exceptions. But people still use it-through peer-to-peer apps and offshore wallets. Enforcement is patchy, but the law is clear: you’re breaking it if you do.

The New Global Players

The biggest surprise in 2025? Ukraine. It topped the Global Crypto Adoption Index-not because of its economy, but because of its people. Despite the war, Ukrainians use crypto to receive aid, pay for services, and bypass banking restrictions. Moldova, Georgia, Jordan, and Hong Kong followed close behind. These aren’t tech hubs. They’re countries where crypto fills gaps left by broken financial systems.

Vietnam, Latvia, Montenegro, Venezuela, and Slovenia round out the top 10. In Venezuela, crypto is the only way many people save money. In Latvia, it’s a tool for small businesses avoiding EU banking red tape. In Montenegro, it’s how tourists pay for hotels without foreign transaction fees.

And that’s the irony: the countries with the most seizures aren’t always the ones with the most crime. They’re the ones with the most adoption-and the most enforcement.

What’s Next? The Legal Tightrope

The U.S. is moving from punishment to structure. The SEC and CFTC have stopped chasing every crypto startup. Instead, they’ve relaunched the Crypto Task Force with clear rules: if you follow KYC, AML, and reserve requirements, you’re not a target. Circle, the issuer of USDC, went public in April 2025. Coinbase, already listed on Nasdaq, is now a regulated financial institution.

Other countries are watching. Japan is considering a similar compliance-first model. Singapore is drafting rules that treat DeFi protocols like banks. The EU’s MiCA regulation, which fully takes effect in 2026, will require all crypto service providers to report suspicious activity to a central EU authority.

But the biggest question remains: who owns seized crypto? If the government holds it in a reserve, is it an investment-or an asset of the state? If the coins appreciate, does the original owner get a share? What if the coins were stolen from a victim? Should restitution come from the reserve?

No country has answered that yet. But the U.S. is testing a model: victims get paid first. Then law enforcement gets funding. Then any surplus goes into the national reserve. It’s not perfect. But it’s the first system that tries to balance justice, market stability, and public interest.

What This Means for You

If you’re a crypto user, this isn’t about fear. It’s about awareness. Your wallet isn’t anonymous. Your transactions are traceable. If you’re using crypto legally, you have nothing to worry about. But if you’re holding coins from a shady source-even unknowingly-you’re at risk.

Exchanges are now required to freeze accounts linked to sanctioned wallets. Wallets flagged by blockchain analytics firms like Chainalysis or Elliptic can be blocked by banks, payment processors, and even hardware wallet manufacturers.

The days of thinking crypto = untraceable are over. The tools are too good. The laws are too clear. And governments are too coordinated.

The future of crypto isn’t about anonymity. It’s about accountability. And the countries that get that right will lead the next decade.