In an ongoing effort to liquidate its significant bitcoin holdings, the German government has once again engaged in major transactions involving btc, according to data from blockchain analytics platforms Arkham Intel. This morning, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) executed nine transactions totaling approximately 2,786 btc.
The German government continues its bitcoin liquidation
Arkham Intel data shows that four of them are internal transfers, while five transactions were direct transfers to crypto exchanges and market makers, suggesting selling intent. The five potential sales amount to 1,095,339 btc for a value of approximately $67 million. Specifically, BKA made two transfers of 125 btc, each worth approximately $7.7 million, to well-known cryptocurrency exchanges Bitstamp and Kraken.
An additional transaction involved a one-minute test transfer of 0.001 btc to Flow Traders, a leading market maker. This small transaction was soon followed by a much larger transfer of 345,338 btc to the same entity, strongly suggesting preparation for a substantial sell order.
Related reading
Another notable transfer of 500 btc went to an enigmatic address labeled “139Po.” This address has had previous activity linked to the German government, but remains a mystery and is speculated to be another selling point.
These transactions are part of a broader trend observed since last week. Just one day before, on June 25, the government had bitcoin-holdings/” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>willing of 400 bitcoin worth $24 million on Kraken and Coinbase, as well as 500 btc to address “139Po.”
This builds on major moves from early last week: $130 million worth of btc was transferred to exchanges on June 19 and $65 million on June 20. To counter these outflows, the government received $20.1 million from Kraken and $5.5 million from wallets associated with Robinhood. , Bitstamp and Coinbase.
Related reading
Currently, the German government's holdings amount to 45,264 btc, valued at around $2.8 billion. This makes Germany one of the top bitcoin-owning nation-states, behind only the United States, China, and the United Kingdom, which hold 213,246 btc, 190,000 btc, and 61,000 btc respectively, according to data of bitcoin Treasury bonds.
btc price remains above critical level
The pattern of large-scale disposals by the German government has contributed to fluctuations in the market price of bitcoin, which has seen a drop of approximately 6% since the start of these transactions. bitcoin's value briefly fell below the $60,000 threshold following Mt. Gox's announcement about disbursing approximately $9 billion in bitcoin and bitcoin Cash starting in July.
Market analysts and investors are also watching these government actions closely as the sell-off appears to continue at a slow pace. This strategic sell-off by the German government comes at a crucial time for market sentiment, with bitcoin prices teetering just above critical support levels. If the daily trading price closes below the $60,000 threshold, it could trigger a steeper decline in the price of bitcoin, exacerbating market volatility and uncertainty.
At the time of publication, btc was trading at $61,451.
Featured image created with DALL·E, chart from TradingView.com
