Taiwan’s government has confirmed that it is holding more than 210 bitcoin that were seized during criminal investigations. The announcement has raised questions about how the government handles confiscated bitcoin and whether it could have a future role in public finances.

The Ministry of Justice said judicial authorities currently hold 210.45 bitcoin taken from cases involving fraud, money laundering, and other financial crimes. At recent market prices, the bitcoin is worth about $18 million. When all seized digital assets are counted together, the total value is close to 1,301,000,000 New Taiwan Dollars or US$41 million.

The disclosure became public after a lawmaker asked the government to explain how much digital assets it was holding. Legislator Ko Ju-Chun later shared official documents showing the exact amount of bitcoin under state custody as of October 31.

When compared with other countries, Taiwan now ranks among the top government holders of bitcoin worldwide. BitcoinTreasuries.net data places Taiwan as the 10th largest government holder of bitcoin.

The United States remains far ahead, holding more than 328,000 bitcoin, mostly seized from cybercrime and fraud cases. China and the United Kingdom follow behind.

Altogether, governments around the world are estimated to control more than 640,000 BTC, or about 3% of all bitcoin in existence. Taiwan’s government made clear that it did not buy any bitcoin as an investment.

Instead, all of the bitcoin was taken during criminal investigations. Officials stressed that the holdings are the result of law enforcement actions, not a planned reserve strategy.

Government inventory data shows that authorities also control large amounts of stablecoins, especially USDT and USDC, as well as ethereum and several smaller-cap digital tokens.

Stablecoins make up the largest share by quantity. Authorities reported holding more than 17 million USDT, along with smaller amounts of USDC, USDC.e, and other tokens.

They also hold more than 2,400 ethereum coins, plus limited amounts of BNB, TRX, and other digital assets. The Ministry of Justice said these assets were collected as part of a broader effort to improve how digital assets are seized and managed. Officials are working to standardize storage, tracking, and reporting across the judicial system.

So far, the government has not decided what to do with the seized bitcoin. One option is to auction the assets and send the money into public revenue, which is how confiscated assets are normally handled.

At the same time, political debate has grown over whether bitcoin should be treated as a strategic asset.

Some lawmakers argue that the government should consider holding the bitcoin rather than selling it. During a legislative session, Ko Ju-Chun said:

Reports have also said that Taiwan’s central bank has agreed to study Bitcoin more closely. This includes research into regulations and a possible pilot program using already seized bitcoin. Any long-term decision would require approval from lawmakers and financial regulators.