The Belgian government has confiscated 1,050 "problematic" BTC and plans to strengthen virtual currency management

Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens has announced his preference for new regulations that would strengthen government control over Bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Geens believes that as virtual currencies are increasingly used in cybercrime, fraud and terrorism, strict rules should be set for them. He also suggested that cryptocurrency companies should be obliged to cooperate with the courts.

He said:

Criminal activity changes with new technologies, and so should legislation.

According to Geens, the Belgian Ministry of Justice is currently working with the Central Office of Confiscation and Forfeiture (COSC) and the Public Prosecutors’ Committee to study procedural solutions for handling confiscated digital assets.

The plan has won the support of the country’s tax authorities. Dirk Dierickx, an electronic audit expert at the Belgian Tax Office, said that the popularity of cryptocurrencies will increase in the short term:

Our findings show that more and more Belgians see virtual currencies as an alternative to bank accounts, which do not promise them any returns.

According to the Belgian tax authorities, cryptocurrency users can be divided into three categories. The first category is reformers and cryptography geeks who no longer want to support the existing banking system after a series of financial crises. The second category is users in countries with strict capital flow controls. The third category is scammers and criminals. Dierickx cited an example provided by his Dutch colleagues: the frequent use of cryptocurrencies in terrorist activities.

Currently, Belgium has had two Bitcoin confiscation cases, both related to illegal drug trafficking, with a total of 1,050个BTC confiscated. However, the Belgian government still has no legal channels to sell these digital assets.

Geens explained:

All of our anti-abuse regulations are based on accountability for the financial sector and network intermediaries we are familiar with, such as banks. When these legal rules were formulated, the virtual (currency) sector did not exist, so there was no corresponding regulatory system for this sector. We should change the law so that we can effectively deal with the abuse of Bitcoin.