- UK froze ~£6 million in illicit crypto proceeds last and this year
- This is thanks to new powers for the police and HMRC
- The largest freeze was in March at ~£1.5M
Thanks to new powers for the police, other public bodies, and HMRC – the UK froze ~£6 million in illicit crypto proceeds in 2024, with the largest freeze in March 2025 at ~£1.5M.
More About Crypto Asset Freezing in the UK
We can see from the statistics that the UK is getting serious about cutting off financial flows to illegal activity and has introduced additional powers already showing significant numbers. Thus, starting in April 2024, the UK has begun freezing the crypto assets of users who they claim are maliciously using crypto to fund illegal activity.
And if in 2024 the freezes were quite modest and numbered in the thousands and tens of thousands, then in early 2025, we saw hundreds of thousands with a record ~£1.5M in March. Namely, these crypto assets were mostly held in the wallet of a Coinbase user, but the identity of the owner remains unknown.
Under these rules, these assets are frozen by court authorization for a period of three years, which is not necessarily enough time for certain cases but still can be done in some cases. Also, an important aspect is that they can freeze assets until the investigation is over, and even if the person is acquitted, they may be limited in their resources all this time.
Conclusion
At the moment, there is no suggestion that these measures will be ended because, as you may have noticed, they are only gaining momentum. But at the same time, if they are not selective enough, it could cause a public outcry that will have to be reckoned with one way or another.
Interestingly, will they use these crypto assets for their crypto reserve if they create one like the US? Stay tuned for updates, be adaptive in the rapidly evolving financial and crypto landscape, and keep your strategy grounded, balanced, and beneficial.
