Germany has moved more Bitcoin to centralized exchanges including Bitstamp, Kraken and Coinbase, among others between Thursday and Friday.
Blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence showed that a government-managed wallet moved 10,567 BTC, valued at over $600m. This was sent across several batches to crypto exchanges and other service providers like Flow Traders and Cumberland DRW.
Now, German authorities hold roughly 9,090 BTC, worth about $517m, according to Arkham. It marks a substantial drop from the wallet’s initial 50,000 BTC balance, valued at nearly $3b three weeks ago. However, according to Bitcoin Treasuries, Germany only holds 4,925 Bitcoin ($280m).
Germany Bitcoin Fire Sale Nearing Completion
Analysts now predict Germany’s fire sale is nearing its end. At this pace, the authorities could be finished unloading their holdings by early next week.
So how exactly did Germany manage to acquire this much Bitcoin?
In a major crackdown on illegal activity, German authorities seized 50,000 Bitcoins in Jan. 2024 from the notorious website Movie2k.to, convicted for money laundering and other crimes. These Bitcoins, valued at around $2.2 billion at the time, became the source of a recent fire sale. The BKA initiated the sell-off in June, starting with 900 Bitcoins, and hasn’t stopped since, offloading thousands more in recent weeks for millions of dollars.
Seized Crypto Fuels Market Rollercoaster
Market experts are concerned about the effects of Germany’s bitcoin sell-off, especially as it occurs alongside other major events such as Mt. Gox starting Bitcoin repayments and the looming US elections.
This massive selloff has sent Bitcoin prices swinging between $54,000 and $59,000. As of July 12th, 4:40 UTC, Bitcoin was trading around $56,855.
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