Spanish Institute to Cash Out $10M in Bitcoin Bought for €10K

TLDR:

• Tenerife’s ITER bought 97 Bitcoin in 2012 for roughly €10,000 as a research investment.
• The holdings now approach a valuation near €10 million, a 1,000-fold increase.
• A sale is in discussion via a Spanish regulated financial institution under Banco de España and CNMV oversight.
• Public-sector entities holding long-term Bitcoin are rare; this case highlights asset conversion from research to funding.

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The Institute of Technology and Renewable Energies (ITER) on the island of Tenerife is preparing to sell a stash of 97 units of Bitcoin it bought in 2012 for just €10,000. The council that oversees ITER says the value of the holdings has rocketed to nearly €10 million. 

The sale would mark a rare case of a public body liquidating Bitcoin at scale in Spain. The move underscores how early crypto bets by institutions can unlock substantial value today.

From Research Asset to Sale Candidate

In 2012 ITER made the Bitcoin purchase as part of a research effort into blockchain and digital currency technology. 

At the time the investment cost roughly €10,000 for 97 BTC. The intent was not financial speculation but exploratory work into mining, ledger systems and digital-asset architecture. Over the years ITER retained the Bitcoin holdings while the broader crypto market evolved.

Negotiations are now underway with a Spanish financial institution regulated by Banco de España and Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) to execute the transaction. 

The council states that traditional banks often avoid crypto transactions because of regulatory uncertainty and volatility risks. If completed, the sale would convert a nearly decade-old research asset into capital earmarked for further technological and renewable-energy initiatives on the island.

Implications for Institutional Crypto Holdings

The impending sale positions ITER among few public entities navigating the institutional-crypto interface. The transformation from €10,000 to a potential €10 million illustrates the scale of return possible in early Bitcoin acquisition. 

Observers note that just a few entities hold long-term crypto assets without immediate liquidation plans. The Tenerife case underscores how research-driven purchases can evolve into financial-asset conversions.

For crypto markets the move suggests increasing public-sector engagement with digital assets beyond token experiments or grants. ITER’s engagement raises questions about how public bodies manage asset custody, regulatory compliance and sale timing in a market that remains volatile. 

The transaction may also attract attention in Spain for how public finances intersect with crypto holdings.

If the sale is finalised the funds will feed back into further R&D or clean-energy projects within ITER’s mandate. While the transaction faces logistical and regulatory hurdles, the potential conversion of these Bitcoins into institutional funding underscores the growing integration of crypto into non-financial institutions.

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