Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) on Monday transferred an additional 1,500 bitcoin, valued at nearly $95 million, to multiple cryptocurrency exchanges, including Bitstamp, Coinbase and Kraken.
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BREAKING NEWS: German government sends another 1,500 twitter.com/hashtag/bitcoin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#bitcoin
– bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1807699713707184293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>July 1, 2024
This follows a series of transactions since June 19, in which the German government has moved bitcoin worth approximately $220 million to various exchanges, according to Arkham data.
The German government first acquired these Bitcoins after a large-scale seizure in 2013. The BKA confiscated nearly 50,000 Bitcoins, then valued at over $2 billion, from the operators of Movie2k.to, a notorious movie piracy website active during that period.
These movements suggest a possible intention on the part of the German authorities to liquidate part of the bitcoin in the offensive.
This move by Germany mirrors recent actions by the US government, which also transferred millions of dollars worth of bitcoin to exchanges, potentially signaling its intention to sell. In both cases, the transfers have sparked significant speculation within the bitcoin community about the potential impact on bitcoin’s market price.
Despite the significant movements, the majority of the seized bitcoin remains under the control of the German government. Nearly 44,692 bitcoin, worth approximately $2.82 billion, are still held in government wallets. This means that the recent transfers, while notable, represent a relatively small portion of total holdings.
As the situation develops, it remains to be seen how the bitcoin market will react to these government-initiated moves.
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