The UK now ranks 3rd in global Bitcoin adoption, but court rules mean it can’t keep its 60,000 BTC as a reserve
JAN3 ranked the UK third in its 2025 B20 with a 6.44 BB score, behind the US and Bhutan. The ranking reflects a composite of policy, regulation, legal treatment, mining, reserve policy, political support, and Bitcoin use. A major factor was more than 60,000 BTC held in government custody, but those coins are not state-owned reserves: UK records and prosecutors describe them as seized criminal property pending court action. A March 2026 Treasury answer said central government held no cryptoassets. The UK has not adopted a Bitcoin reserve policy, and in September 2025 the government said it had no plans to review one. Recent pro-crypto developments include the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act, which clarified digital assets can be property, and FCA approval of retail access to qualifying crypto ETNs on UK exchanges.
