In a recently concluded asset declaration exercise, top Ukrainian government officials said they own bitcoin (BTC), as well as other cryptocurrencies.
The exercise, which started in 2020 and ended on March 31, 2021, received entries from 791,872 participants working in different government ministries.
According to data published by OpenDataBot, a business data registration monitoring service, of the 791,872 officials that took part in the exercise, 652 declared that they own cryptocurrencies. 397 (61%) of the total number of officials that own cryptocurrencies, declared that they have a combined 46,351 bitcoins, worth more than $2.6 billion.
Other officials noted that their assets were stashed in Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Cardano (ADA) and Bitcoin Cash, among others.
OpenDataBot disclosed that the majority of the bitcoin owners work in city councils, Ukrainian Police, and the Defense Ministry.
Growing Bitcoin Interest Among Government Officials
Before now, the top-ranking bitcoin holders in the category were Deputy Chairman of the Odessa Regional Council and the People’s Deputy of Ukraine official, who had 5,328 and 4,256 bitcoins, respectively. Both officials have been in the top spot for three years in a row.
However, after the conclusion of the recent asset declaration process, Vyacheslav Mishalov, a deputy of the Dnipro City Council indicated that he possesses 18,000 BTC, worth more than $1 billion, as at press time.
Mishalov’s bitcoin portfolio alone is more than what was recorded for all Ukrainian officials who declared BTC as part of their assets in the last two years.
Similarly, the number of officials who are involved in cryptocurrencies has skyrocketed in recent times. In 2016, only 25 government officials declared that they have investments in cryptocurrencies.
Interestingly, the number has surged by more than 2,600% over the years. This massive growth in interest among government officials could be as a result of bitcoin’s impressive over traditional financial instruments.
While the Ukrainian government is yet to grant bitcoin’s legal status, the country’s officials have continued to invest in the asset as a hedge against inflation.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Miami Mayor reaffirmed his belief in bitcoin by converting 1% of the city’s treasury to the largest cryptocurrency.
