Altcoins Talks - Cryptocurrency Forum
Crypto Discussion Forum => Cryptocurrency discussions => Topic started by: yhiaali3 on April 17, 2025, 06:27:29 AM
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Reuters reports local governments in China are using private companies to sell seized crypto, going against the country's trading ban.
Local governments in China are reportedly seeking ways to offload seized crypto while facing challenges due to the country’s ban on crypto trading and exchanges.
The absence of clear rules on how authorities should manage seized cryptocurrency has led to “inconsistent and opaque approaches,” which some lawyers fear could open the door to corruption, according to an April 16 report by Reuters.
Chinese local governments are using private companies to sell seized cryptocurrencies in offshore markets in exchange for cash to replenish public coffers, Reuters reported, citing transaction and court documents.
The local governments reportedly held approximately 15,000 Bitcoin worth $1.4 billion at the end of 2023, and the sales have been a significant source of income.
China holds an estimated 194,000 BTC worth approximately $16 billion and is the second largest nation Bitcoin holder behind the US, according to Bitbo.
Link to the full article:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-selling-seized-crypto-top-up-coffers-reuters
Here's a link to the Reuters report:
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-debates-how-handle-criminal-crypto-cache-2025-04-15/
This is really interesting. China, which bans cryptocurrency trading, is selling confiscated cryptocurrencies to support the state treasury. Is this legal?
A few days ago, I wrote about international payment settlements between China and Russia using Bitcoin due to the tariff war. Today, we hear that China is selling Bitcoin to support the state treasury. Has the tariff war opened new horizons for Bitcoin?
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Can this move made by local governments in China legal? Well, I am sure it is not illegal but am sure this is hypocrisy since China already banned Bitcoin years ago and declared that the nation will not have anything to do with the said digital asset. But right now, China remains a factor in the movement of Bitcoin all because of the huge BTC they confiscated years ago. Definitely, if China will decide to sell all Bitcoin it got the market will tumble but am sure the government at the top is now also thinking strategically since they know now they can use Bitcoin as a way to avoid sanctions in international trade just like what Russia got into. So let's see where is the direction the government is taking on this aspect...will they keep or will they let go?
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Definitely, if China will decide to sell all Bitcoin it got the market will tumble but am sure the government at the top is now also thinking strategically since they know now they can use Bitcoin as a way to avoid sanctions in international trade just like what Russia got into. So let's see where is the direction the government is taking on this aspect...will they keep or will they let go?
I don't expect China to sell all of its Bitcoin, and even if it did, I don't think it would impact the market, as they are doing so secretly and outside the market. Since the sale is taking place outside the market, it won't directly impact the price of Bitcoin.
I've also heard some voices in China calling for the government to use the confiscated Bitcoin as a strategic reserve for the Chinese treasury, similar to what Trump has done in the United States. If that happens, it would be hugely positive news for the market.
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This is really interesting. China, which bans cryptocurrency trading, is selling confiscated cryptocurrencies to support the state treasury. Is this legal?
as the article said, due to unclear regulations there are a lot of inconsistencies happening and the government can might as well take advantage of that and it seems like that is exactly what they are doing i do not know if it is illegal but it is definitely has hypocrisy if they are gonna use crypto for their own good might as well let their citizens do the same thing
A few days ago, I wrote about international payment settlements between China and Russia using Bitcoin due to the tariff war. Today, we hear that China is selling Bitcoin to support the state treasury. Has the tariff war opened new horizons for Bitcoin?
countries definitely have realized what cryptocurrencies can provide in cases where international trades using fiat will be more of a hassle and very expensive so i do think that we will see a lot of countries turn to bitcoin now
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It's not about legality, their government is authoritative so what do you expect?
And it make sense for them to sell as they have ban it, meaning they should get rid of their Bitcoin and so they will have to sell at some point. So no surprises here, specially with the tariff war and then exposing those luxury items, China is doing all and everything in their power to get back at the West.
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- I think in my own assessment of what China did, it is not illegal because from what I know or understand, the cryptocurrencies they sold came from the crypto they illegally obtained that entered their country. Then the worth of bitcoins they sold was also around 15000btc which is equivalent to 1.4 billion$.
I think they did that because of the status of their economy there because of the tariff imposed on them by the US, which I think especially the merchants or business people in China were angry about, so the Chinese government did that.
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I think they did that because of the status of their economy there because of the tariff imposed on them by the US, which I think especially the merchants or business people in China were angry about, so the Chinese government did that.
This could be one reason as well as to why they've sold their seized Bitcoin, if might have been the wrong timing as it could have been sold when we are in $100k or higher. But for them it doesn't matter, and because of the tariffs imposed on them by US their economy might be hit big time. So to counter that, they will have to sell some if not most of their Bitcoin to cover what they might have lost due to the tariff war by Trump. It might be hard decision for them, and i think they have all the authority and it's not illegal to sell them.
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This is really interesting. China, which bans cryptocurrency trading, is selling confiscated cryptocurrencies to support the state treasury. Is this legal?
Of course it is.
They are not trading, they are liquidating digital assets, perfectly legal in any country.
The USMS auctions firearms and cars that are illegal in California, for exampleand seized but perfectly legal if the buyer is from Texas.
China has recognized cryptos as property, so why not being allowed to be sold, you can for example be allowed to sell your dog or cat, but I doubt any country would allow trading on your pet's value.
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There is nothing controversial about China selling the BTC it has seized, regardless of their attitude towards it - because they, as a government, are hypocrites who do whatever they want, while censoring the internet for their people and forbidding them from trading cryptocurrencies because they are afraid of influence coming from the West.
That figure of 194 000 BTC seems exaggerated and made up to me, but even if China had all those BTC (which I sincerely doubt), $16 billion for an economy with an annual GDP of over $18 trillion is a drop in the ocean.
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It's not about legality, their government is authoritative so what do you expect?
And it make sense for them to sell as they have ban it, meaning they should get rid of their Bitcoin and so they will have to sell at some point. So no surprises here, specially with the tariff war and then exposing those luxury items, China is doing all and everything in their power to get back at the West.
Yes, you have a point. The tariff war has hit the influential people, especially the Chinese, they have been banned from cryptocurrency trading. Due to this terrible fire, they sell all the Bitcoins and other coins in their accounts. Because Trump is a politician, the world is panicking because of his tariff war influence. The Chinese are found to have some faults because they are friends with Russia and they do business. Trump does not like these things at all, so he has hit the Chinese.
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Its their coins already. If its the local government selling the coins, its their right after all they already owned those coins. Didn't the seized coins fro, Silkroad was also auctioned? Its not so different from what US did.
Chances is that if they liquidated those assets, are they finding the market volatile in the coming months? Because I'm sure before they decide to sell, they must have consulted someone who knows about the market.
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I am not surprised because I had known that such a day would come, and also looking at the fact that China possesses such a large amount, they would one day look for ways to dispose of immediately, and it is currently happening of late, online dailies has it that both Russia and China sealed an energy deal with bitcoin as their means of payment and I believe Chinese government would never reject any tangible offer to use bitcoin as a means of payment to reduce their holding.
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Definitely, if China will decide to sell all Bitcoin it got the market will tumble but am sure the government at the top is now also thinking strategically since they know now they can use Bitcoin as a way to avoid sanctions in international trade just like what Russia got into. So let's see where is the direction the government is taking on this aspect...will they keep or will they let go?
I don't expect China to sell all of its Bitcoin, and even if it did, I don't think it would impact the market, as they are doing so secretly and outside the market. Since the sale is taking place outside the market, it won't directly impact the price of Bitcoin.
I've also heard some voices in China calling for the government to use the confiscated Bitcoin as a strategic reserve for the Chinese treasury, similar to what Trump has done in the United States. If that happens, it would be hugely positive news for the market.
If the local government sell all those bitcoin, it will definitely affect the market and a bear market might come faster. I could remember when a firm in Germany sold all their bitcoin, it affected the market. However, no matter the quantity of bitcoin that you sell, it will only affect the market temporarily.
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A few days ago, I wrote about international payment settlements between China and Russia using Bitcoin due to the tariff war. Today, we hear that China is selling Bitcoin to support the state treasury. Has the tariff war opened new horizons for Bitcoin?
Yeah we cannot really anticipate things that will happen or their government will do because of it's secrecy which I think is based on the act of war book which sometimes misleading because it might be telling the truth or the opposite and that is how their government works they don't want to look weak that is why they project their strength even though something is not right to their country.
Seems they are hard hit by the tariff since they come up on that decision to back their government with the confiscated crypto. Sounds unusual since they look strong publicly. I am wondering how it's going if the tariff war will continue for years to come. Maybe they will sell all those crypto assets to back their large economy so it won't cripple down.
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What makes it illegal? Many countries sell these coins at public auctions, and the same countries can make these coins legal.
The Chinese economy is growing by trillions of dollars, and I don't think they need to sell 1,000 bitcoins, or even 1 million.
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Of course it is.
They are not trading, they are liquidating digital assets, perfectly legal in any country.
The USMS auctions firearms and cars that are illegal in California, for exampleand seized but perfectly legal if the buyer is from Texas.
But why do they do this secretly through private companies?
Yes, I agree with you that any country has the right to sell illegal confiscations and deposit them in the state treasury legally. But, this must be done in a public auction and through legal tender, not in secret.
As for the government selling confiscated goods through private companies in secret, they most likely believe this is illegal, so they keep things under wraps. This is my conclusion.
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But why do they do this secretly through private companies?
But, this must be done in a public auction and through legal tender, not in secret.
~snip~
Because this is about China, and in that country the government doesn't ask the people for anything, it just issues orders that people have to obey. In other words, the politicians in that country are not accountable to the people, but to themselves, which gives them the right to do whatever they want, in the way they want.
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Can this move made by local governments in China legal? Well, I am sure it is not illegal but am sure this is hypocrisy since China already banned Bitcoin years ago and declared that the nation will not have anything to do with the said digital asset. But right now, China remains a factor in the movement of Bitcoin all because of the huge BTC they confiscated years ago. Definitely, if China will decide to sell all Bitcoin it got the market will tumble but am sure the government at the top is now also thinking strategically since they know now they can use Bitcoin as a way to avoid sanctions in international trade just like what Russia got into. So let's see where is the direction the government is taking on this aspect...will they keep or will they let go?
The government of China is bais about Bitcoin, unfortunately, this is another levels of hypocrisy especially to her citizens. It has become "a Man who said he forbid to eat cow, but uses his teeth to share the cow to those that eat cow", a big deceit.
Well, from what is going on as regards the US tarrif war, it supposed to be obvious that China can't survive the sanctions, and they will end up having a loose end on her anti crypto stand in no distance time.
I have also made a topic on China Bitcoin ban, and that, when the need arises, China will have no options than to make agreement with as many countries as possible on international trade settlements currency. As you knew, the issue of US dollar in settlement has been some agenda behind the coming together of several countries into BRICS
let watch how this politics of Bitcoin ban and the tariff war will play out even in near future.
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But why do they do this secretly through private companies?
But, this must be done in a public auction and through legal tender, not in secret.
~snip~
Because this is about China, and in that country the government doesn't ask the people for anything, it just issues orders that people have to obey. In other words, the politicians in that country are not accountable to the people, but to themselves, which gives them the right to do whatever they want, in the way they want.
Yes, you may be right. In totalitarian regimes, the president or government is above the law. It could be argued that what the president or government does becomes the law, so perhaps this is an acceptable justification.
Although it's off-topic, I wonder how China managed to become a major global power competing with America despite the presence of such a ruling Chinese party. As I know, communist regimes are totalitarian and do not believe in democracy and openness.
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A few days ago, I wrote about international payment settlements between China and Russia using Bitcoin due to the tariff war. Today, we hear that China is selling Bitcoin to support the state treasury. Has the tariff war opened new horizons for Bitcoin?
That can't be legal, they are selling people's money but Germany sold btc worth 2 billion, so if China also sells it won't be a discussion that if its legal or not.
Although I am surprised to hear that China is 2nd number from countries in holding the most BTC. 14 billion dollar worth of BTC that they accumulated excluding the seized amount is just awesome and still they have banned crypto.
Speaking of opening of new horizon for BTC, I think that has already happened.
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This is really interesting. China, which bans cryptocurrency trading, is selling confiscated cryptocurrencies to support the state treasury. Is this legal?
The government creates the laws, so anything they do is legal. :)
And I doubt this is true because China is accumulating more bitcoins into their reserves and the ban is for their citizens only then why do they want to sell the cryptos? Or it's that they are converting to bitcoins...
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Although I am surprised to hear that China is 2nd number from countries in holding the most BTC. 14 billion dollar worth of BTC that they accumulated excluding the seized amount is just awesome and still they have banned crypto.
You shouldn't be surprised that China ranks second among countries in terms of holding the largest number of Bitcoins. Although China bans Bitcoin, it is considered one of the countries with the largest number of cryptocurrency holders. A report stated that China ranks second in the world in terms of the number of cryptocurrency holders, approximately 59 million people.
Of course, most Chinese citizens do not comply with the ban, and the Chinese government is working to pursue them and confiscate their crypto assets. Therefore, it's no surprise that they possess such a large amount of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
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~snip~
Although it's off-topic, I wonder how China managed to become a major global power competing with America despite the presence of such a ruling Chinese party. As I know, communist regimes are totalitarian and do not believe in democracy and openness.
Precisely because of the way society behaves under communist rule - I had the misfortune of spending part of my life in such a society, so I have experience with such a regime. China managed to become a global superpower because it managed to practically turn 1.x billion people into robots who blindly believe everything the communist party tells them - or at least pretend to believe for fear of ending up in re-education camps or something worse.
If you think about it, a society in which there is no democracy and everyone behaves like robots (more or less) must be efficient - and especially if there are 4 times more robots than the US population.
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You shouldn't be surprised that China ranks second among countries in terms of holding the largest number of Bitcoins. Although China bans Bitcoin, it is considered one of the countries with the largest number of cryptocurrency holders. A report stated that China ranks second in the world in terms of the number of cryptocurrency holders, approximately 59 million people.
Of course, most Chinese citizens do not comply with the ban, and the Chinese government is working to pursue them and confiscate their crypto assets. Therefore, it's no surprise that they possess such a large amount of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
So they are on second number in terms of active crypto users too. Well that's surprising as well but as you said we should not be surprised so I guess they would still be mining crypto and may have most active nodes running
Speaking of confiscation amount, which is just 2 billion while the total amount they hold is around 14 billion dollars so that's not a small amount which they might have accumulated or mined.
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You shouldn't be surprised that China ranks second among countries in terms of holding the largest number of Bitcoins. Although China bans Bitcoin, it is considered one of the countries with the largest number of cryptocurrency holders. A report stated that China ranks second in the world in terms of the number of cryptocurrency holders, approximately 59 million people.
Of course, most Chinese citizens do not comply with the ban, and the Chinese government is working to pursue them and confiscate their crypto assets. Therefore, it's no surprise that they possess such a large amount of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Although the Chinese government has banned bitcoin, in reality its citizens are the largest bitcoin owners, so the ban is useless. In my opinion, the Chinese government should legalize bitcoin and allow its citizens to own and transact with bitcoin because they can collect taxes from their citizens' transactions.
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You shouldn't be surprised that China ranks second among countries in terms of holding the largest number of Bitcoins. Although China bans Bitcoin, it is considered one of the countries with the largest number of cryptocurrency holders. A report stated that China ranks second in the world in terms of the number of cryptocurrency holders, approximately 59 million people.
Of course, most Chinese citizens do not comply with the ban, and the Chinese government is working to pursue them and confiscate their crypto assets. Therefore, it's no surprise that they possess such a large amount of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Although the Chinese government has banned bitcoin, in reality its citizens are the largest bitcoin owners, so the ban is useless. In my opinion, the Chinese government should legalize bitcoin and allow its citizens to own and transact with bitcoin because they can collect taxes from their citizens' transactions.
They allow people to hold Bitcoin as their policy says Bitcoin is a property. Its not totally ban as what I have read on some news. If the government backs a company that mines Bitcoin, its their way of saying they are authorized the company.
Remember that Hong Kong allows trading of Bitcoin. Although its part of China, Hong Kong works differently from the mainland which anyone or any institutions registered under Hong Kong are able to own Bitcoin.
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Precisely because of the way society behaves under communist rule - I had the misfortune of spending part of my life in such a society, so I have experience with such a regime. China managed to become a global superpower because it managed to practically turn 1.x billion people into robots who blindly believe everything the communist party tells them - or at least pretend to believe for fear of ending up in re-education camps or something worse.
I'm sorry you had to go through such an experience; it must have been terrifying. I've seen some movies about communist societies, but experiencing them in real life is definitely different.
I don't know how the Chinese people have adapted to this difficult reality, but if, as you say, they've almost become robots, then it means they've also been programmed to be uncomplaining, content, and perhaps even happy with their reality.
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Just like proceeds of other financial crimes, selling seized cryptos by the state is legal to some extent and we shouldn't avoid the obvious truth that every untraceable asset belongs to the government, since the seized crypto are valuable assets, that make it economically usable and supportive.
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Although the Chinese government has banned bitcoin, in reality its citizens are the largest bitcoin owners, so the ban is useless. In my opinion, the Chinese government should legalize bitcoin and allow its citizens to own and transact with bitcoin because they can collect taxes from their citizens' transactions.
Who or what is the source of this claim? As far as I know, the most BTC is held by US citizens and their companies, while on the other hand, we cannot know how much the Chinese have (or don't have), because there is no method today (nor was there before) to determine such a thing. Besides, it always seemed to me that most Chinese people sold their BTC after the ban, because most of them blindly obey orders from the top.
I'm sorry you had to go through such an experience; it must have been terrifying. I've seen some movies about communist societies, but experiencing them in real life is definitely different.
~snip~
Fortunately, I did not live in such a society for too long, but the consequences of their rule are felt even today because they committed terrible crimes that remained unpunished. That's why it's always strange to me that people are so fascinated by a country that is still ruled by people who do not shy away from even the worst things in order to stay in power.
However, it would be unfair to say that they are the only ones who commit crimes against people who oppose them, some countries that call themselves great democracies also do things that are inhumane and unjust. All of these countries have one thing in common, and that is that they dislike BTC to the point of banning it completely, to the point of only seemingly approving it while on the other hand doing everything they can to dissuade people from having anything to do with it.
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You shouldn't be surprised that China ranks second among countries in terms of holding the largest number of Bitcoins. Although China bans Bitcoin, it is considered one of the countries with the largest number of cryptocurrency holders. A report stated that China ranks second in the world in terms of the number of cryptocurrency holders, approximately 59 million people.
Of course, most Chinese citizens do not comply with the ban, and the Chinese government is working to pursue them and confiscate their crypto assets. Therefore, it's no surprise that they possess such a large amount of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
So they are on second number in terms of active crypto users too. Well that's surprising as well but as you said we should not be surprised so I guess they would still be mining crypto and may have most active nodes running
Speaking of confiscation amount, which is just 2 billion while the total amount they hold is around 14 billion dollars so that's not a small amount which they might have accumulated or mined.
China is also the second number of largest bitcoin users in cryptocurrency world. So i believe that if in this situation china people’s ban bitcoin, i believe that it must be a large threat for cryptocurrency world. We obviously know that china government ban bitcoin and selling seized crypto, i think that it must be bad effect for there country. I think that trump donald Trump's tariffs is also very responsible for this situation. But i believe that within a shot time china government solve this problem.
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However, it would be unfair to say that they are the only ones who commit crimes against people who oppose them, some countries that call themselves great democracies also do things that are inhumane and unjust. All of these countries have one thing in common, and that is that they dislike BTC to the point of banning it completely, to the point of only seemingly approving it while on the other hand doing everything they can to dissuade people from having anything to do with it.
I agree with you on every word. I used almost the same expression in a Bitcoin Talk thread where I wrote, "Authoritarian countries and countries that claim to be democratic agree on one thing: they hate Bitcoin."
In fact, I personally don't believe there are truly democratic countries. All systems of government are essentially the same, but their methods differ only. Authoritarian countries practice injustice against human rights openly, while Western countries practice the same thing in secret and under different legal pretexts. Even the most heinous racist crimes can be legally justified or covered up by the media, distorting the truth.
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I don't expect China to sell all of its Bitcoin, and even if it did, I don't think it would impact the market, as they are doing so secretly and outside the market. Since the sale is taking place outside the market, it won't directly impact the price of Bitcoin.
Do you mean this happens p2p with an agreement rate between both parties only??? It's interesting to be able to sell with this scheme... but surely one of the buyers and sellers will give in for the sake of a successful transaction, because there is a more valid market reference while each business actor also thinks about profit and loss... so it seems that it can still happen without affecting the market....
However, the problem is when the recipient of BTC from China starts selling their BTC on the market, it will make the market conditions red for a while....
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China is also the second number of largest bitcoin users in cryptocurrency world. So i believe that if in this situation china people’s ban bitcoin, i believe that it must be a large threat for cryptocurrency world. We obviously know that china government ban bitcoin and selling seized crypto, i think that it must be bad effect for there country. I think that trump donald Trump's tariffs is also very responsible for this situation. But i believe that within a shot time china government solve this problem.
I am sorry, but I did not get what you just said, as If China people ban crypto, and the government has already banned it, what does it mean?
Speaking of DT to do with this, that's true, due to DT China is facing problems, on social media they are representing themselves like they don't care but I think they do care and this way they are facing many problems, I have seen their president meetings with the CEOs of top companies and they are meeting with many countries to tackle this. In short they might be selling BTC to stable the economy which is illogical to think, so they might be dealing with other countries in BTC as they are selling them offshore.