After capturing 213,000 bitcoins in 2017, Bulgaria now has a chance to become one of the richest countries on earth.
This is an opinion editorial by Ahmed Botan, a marketing expert who focuses on bitcoin-based projects.
Bulgaria, a small country located in southeastern Europe, between Romania and Greece, is set to become one of the richest countries in the world.
The reason for this is its possession of 213 thousand bitcoins, which its authorities seized from a group it described as criminals in 2017. Law Enforcement Center in Southeast Europe (SELC), the group hacked into the computers of the Bulgarian Customs Agency and made changes to the system so that its partner companies could import goods while avoiding paying taxes on them.
Immediately after the campaign, the value of the confiscated bitcoin was around $500,000, however, it will now be worth close to $6 billion, as of April 2023. Details about the BTC seizure are not clearIt is not entirely clear if the country still holds this bitcoin or what it plans to do with the stack. If so, the potential for a country like Bulgaria to have this much BTC is worth exploring.
With the value of bitcoin, in the view of many, set to rise much more in the coming years, Bulgaria could become very rich.
Bulgarian bitcoin price rising
While it is impossible to predict the price of bitcoin in the future, there are some notable examples of experts who explain why they are so confident that Bulgarian bitcoin holdings will grow exponentially in value.
Jesse MyersCOO of Onramp Bitcoin who holds an MBA from Stanford University, Expect the Bitcoin price to reach $10 million in the coming decades. CEO of Ark Invest Cathy Wood anticipation Bitcoin will reach $1 million by 2030 in a bullish scenario. similarly, Arthur Hayesco-founder of BitMex He believes that Bitcoin could reach $1 million by 2026.
Most recently, the former CTO of Coinbase, Balji SrinivasanI expected that Bitcoin will reach $1 million by June 15, 2023betting $2 million for this.
While most people don’t believe that the bitcoin price can reach $1 million by then, anything is possible. For example, if there is a prolonged banking crisis and US dollar hyperinflation, as predicted by Srinivasan, who knows how much value Bulgaria’s bitcoin stack will become?
For example, shortly after Srinivasan’s bet (although this is definitely unrelated), many countries, including China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, etc. They are starting to move away from using the US dollar in their tradingWhile the Kenyan president warned citizens They got rid of their dollar holdings.
The US government has measures in place to prevent further bank inflows, such as the Federal Reserve A bank financing program worth $25 billion (BTFP) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to cover all deposits.
I think, if the FDIC decided to insure all deposits, that would be enough to deter a real bank run, but clearly the US dollar is not as strong as it used to be. This opens the door to the rise of a decentralized global monetary unit like Bitcoin.
As a result, if Bulgaria keeps its BTC stockpile, it could gain more value compared to the holdings of other countries around the world and become one of the richest countries in the world.
So, what will Bulgaria do with its bitcoin?
Bulgaria may use future bitcoin earnings to invest in its economy, but it will have to pay off the national debt first. As of 2022, Bulgaria The national government debt reached $20 billion in 2022.
By 2030, if Bitcoin reaches $1 million and still holds the 213,000 BTC stock that was seized, its holdings could be worth $213 billion.
After paying off its debts, Bulgaria can use the funds generated from the sale of 231,000 BTC to invest in various industries, such as technology or real estate. Moreover, the funds generated from the sale of bitcoin can be used by the Bulgarian government to improve infrastructure, education, and healthcare in the country. By investing in these essential sectors, Bulgaria can attract foreign investment, and this would boost the country’s economy.
Bulgaria has a great chance of becoming one of the richest countries in the world if it collects its bitcoins and sells some at the right time. But it seems prudent for the country to hold a large portion of bitcoin in reserve forever, as fiat currencies like the dollar continue to deteriorate.
This is another guest post by Ahmed Butan. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.