German Gov’t Continues To Offload Bitcoin Holdings To Crypto Exchanges

As a researcher with extensive experience in the cryptocurrency market, I find the German government’s ongoing Bitcoin liquidation strategy intriguing and potentially significant for current market dynamics. The latest data from Arkham Intelligence indicates that the German government transferred $24 million worth of Bitcoin to various exchanges and wallets, adding to the previous sales of $130 million and $65 million.


The German government is actively selling off parts of its large Bitcoin stash. It’s moving substantial amounts to different cryptocurrency exchanges and digital wallets, as evidenced by data from Arkham Intelligence. A recent transaction involved $24 million in Bitcoin. This consistent selling could be shaping current market trends for Bitcoin.

German Gov’t Progresses With Bitcoin Liquidation Strategy

On June 25, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) transferred 900 Bitcoin from a labeled government cryptocurrency wallet to three different recipients. Two transactions, each worth 200 Bitcoin, went to well-known exchanges Coinbase and Kraken. The third transaction involved a transfer of 500 Bitcoin to a wallet with the tag “139Po,” whose background and ownership are uncertain, despite past dealings with the German government’s wallet.

New Development: The German Government has transferred an extra $24 million worth of Bitcoin, moving 400 coins to deposits at Kraken and Coinbase in the last two hours. An additional 500 BTC have been sent to the wallet address 139Po, but its destination remains unknown. (Source: Arkham Intel via X)

German Gov’t Continues To Offload Bitcoin Holdings To Crypto Exchanges

The Bitcoin transactions we’ve observed are part of a larger series of sales by the government. They had previously transferred $130 million worth of Bitcoin on June 19 and another $65 million on June 20. Following these transactions, some funds came back to the wallet from Kraken, as well as smaller amounts from wallets linked to Robinhood, Bitstamp, and Coinbase. The wallet originally held close to 50,000 BTC that had been seized from the operator of the pirated movie site Movie2k.

I’ve identified an additional transaction of $130 million in Bitcoin sent to exchanges on June 19th, followed by another transaction of $65 million on June 20th. However, it is important to note that the exchanges returned some of the funds: Kraken refunded $20.1 million, and wallets linked to Robinhood, Bitstamp, and Coinbase returned $5.5 million. At present, the German Government possesses approximately 46,359 BTC, valued at roughly $2.8 billion based on current market prices.

The persistent drop in Bitcoin’s price seems to be influenced by the ongoing selling trend, resulting in a decrease of 11.7% in the last month and a weekly loss of 6.2%. Bitcoin is now hovering around $61,000. Analysts point to the German government’s measures towards centralized exchanges as a significant reason for Bitcoin’s recent poor showing.

As a crypto investor, I’m bracing myself for the possibility that the market downturn could worsen in July due to Mt. Gox’s plans to repay its creditors. With over $9.4 billion in Bitcoin (140,000 BTC) owed to approximately 127,000 creditors, there is a risk of increased selling pressure, which could lead to further price drops. However, according to Alex Thorn, the head of research at Galaxy Digital, the market might be significantly overestimating the magnitude of this selling pressure.

At press time, BTC traded at $61,159.

German Gov’t Continues To Offload Bitcoin Holdings To Crypto Exchanges

Read More

2024-06-26 00:11