.png)
2 hours ago
2
The proceeds from the sale will fund new research projects at ITER, including exploring fields like quantum technology.
Updated Nov 6, 2025, 1:31 p.m. Published Nov 6, 2025, 1:31 p.m.
More than a decade after buying 97 bitcoin for €10,000 (around $11,500) as part of a research project, the local council of Tenerife is preparing to sell the cryptocurrency for nearly €10 million.
The BTC was purchased in 2012 by the island's Instituto Tecnológico y de Energías Renovables (ITER), a public tech center focused on research in renewable energy and emerging technologies, local news outlet El Dia reports.
The aim, officials say, was not to make money but to study the inner workings of blockchain technology, the decentralized ledger system underpinning the cryptocurrency.
Today, the investment’s value has increased nearly 10,000%. But offloading the coins isn't straightforward and, in previous attempts, ITER saw Spanish banks turn them away.
Instead, ITER is negotiating with an unnamed Spanish financial entity regulated by the Bank of Spain and the CNMV, the country’s securities watchdog, to carry out the transaction.
Juan José Martínez, Tenerife’s innovation councillor, says the proceeds would fund new research projects at ITER’s facility in Granadilla de Abona. The institute is currently exploring fields like quantum technology.
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
More For You
Inside Zcash: Encrypted Money at Planetary Scale
A deep dive into Zcash's zero-knowledge architecture, shielded transaction growth, and its path to becoming encrypted Bitcoin at scale.
What to know:
In 2025, Zcash evolved from niche privacy tech into a functioning encrypted-money network:
- Shielded adoption surged, with 20–25% of circulating ZEC now held in encrypted addresses and 30% of transactions involving the shielded pool.
- The Zashi wallet made shielded transfers the default, pushing privacy from optional to standard practice.
- Project Tachyon, led by Sean Bowe, aims to boost throughput to thousands of private transactions per second.
- Zcash surpassed Monero in market share, becoming the largest privacy-focused cryptocurrency by capitalization.
More For You
Strive to Raise Roughly $160 Million After Upsizing Preferred Stock Offering
Upsized 2 million-share SATA issuance priced at $80 includes a 12% dividend and potential bitcoin allocation.
What to know:
- Strive upsized its initial public offering to 2 million shares of its Variable Rate Series A preferred stock (SATA), priced at $80 each, raising about $160 million in gross proceeds.
- The SATA shares carry an initial 12% annual dividend.
- ASST shares closed 17% higher Wednesday and climbed another 8% pre-market Thursday to $1.58.
