The UK’s Insolvency Service has appointed its firstdedicated crypto intelligence specialist in response to a sharp rise inbankruptcy and criminal cases involving digital assets such as Bitcoin andEthereum. The move comes as the agency reports a 420% increasein insolvency cases where crypto is identified as a recoverable asset.Andrew Small, a former police investigator with abackground in economic crime, will take on the new role within the agency’sInvestigation and Enforcement Services team. His work will focus on helping the Insolvency Servicetrace, assess, and recover crypto holdings from individuals and companiessubject to insolvency proceedings.Crypto Recoveries on the RiseFigures from the Insolvency Service show the scale ofthe issue. In the 2024/25 financial year, the agency identified £523,580 in cryptoassets across 59 insolvency cases. That compares to just £1,436 across 14 casesin 2019/20."There has been a rapid rise in crypto ownership inthe UK, and alongside that, we’ve seen a similar rise in crypto asset ownershipin bankruptcy cases," commented Small."The Insolvency Service has a duty to trace andrecover money and assets from individuals or companies in insolvency cases, andwe work to return as much money owed to creditors as possible."The agency noted that the increased recovery of cryptoassets will support its efforts to return more money to creditors. The appointment also reflects the wider adoption ofdigital assets in the UK. According to research by the Financial ConductAuthority, around 7 million UK adults, 12% of the population, held some form ofcrypto in 2024. That’s up from 3.2 million in 2021.These holdings include mainstream cryptocurrencieslike Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, as well as digital tokens andnon-fungible tokens (NFTs).Criminal Cases Under ReviewWhile Small will support all insolvency proceedingsinvolving crypto, his role will focus heavily on criminal cases, where digitalassets are often used to hide or move funds."Crypto is very much a recoverable asset, and my role will help the agency by providing specialist knowledge about the types of cryptoassets available and the associated technology used to buy, sell and store them."This article was written by Jared Kirui at www.financemagnates.com.