A Swedish drug dealer’s bitcoin got US$1.5 million more valuable while he was in prison. Now the government is reimbursing him
- Value of dealer's 36 bitcoin two years ago equivalent to three bitcoin now
- Swedish prosecutor laments outcome: ‘unfortunate in many ways’
The Swedish government is being obligated to return roughly US$1.5 million worth of bitcoin to a drug dealer after the value of the digital asset appreciated while he was in custody, according to a report by The Telegraph.
The unusual turn of events was caused by the fluctuating price of the world's largest cryptocurrency.
Two years ago, when the Swedish Enforcement Authority seized 36 bitcoin from the drug dealer, the coins were cumulatively worth around US$136,000, according to The Telegraph. This puts each bitcoin at roughly US$3,700 per piece.
At that time, Prosecutor Tove Kullberg successfully argued in court that the drug dealer should be stripped off of his illegally earned bitcoin. Kullberg, however, used the monetary equivalent to make her case at the time, not anticipating the pace at which bitcoin's value would grow.
As of August 20, bitcoin was trading around US$48,978 per coin. The asset has surged 66 per cent year-to-date and 313 per cent in the past 12 months. The value of the dealer's 36 bitcoin from two years ago is equivalent to just three bitcoin now.
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When the dealer was released, The Telegraph reported, the authorities were going to auction off all 36 of their coins, but Kullberg's arguments during the prosecution meant the state had only seized three coins worth.