First Bitcoin seizure in Belgium

For the first time ever in Belgium an amount of cash has been seized in the virtual currency bitcoin. The Belgian magistrate and head of the Central Body for Seizures and Confiscations, the COIV, Theo Jacobs is developing a procedure that will make it possible to store bitcoins that have been seized.

Belgian public prosecutors have ordered the COIV to store the seized bitcoins. Bitcoins are a virtual currency that can only be stored digitally.

It was Theo Jacobs who broke the news of the seizure on the microblogging website Twitter. Where the bitcoins come from and why they are being seized is not yet clear.

Bitcoins have been round for some five years and allow people to pay for goods and services digitally. This somewhat complex method of payment is based on complicated cryptographic techniques. The EU has already warned of the dangers of using this virtual currency. Several cases of fraud have emerged and bitcoins are an easy target for hackers.

The FSMA, the Financial Services and Markets Authority, has already issued a ban on the sale of financial products investing in bitcoins.

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