- German authorities have moved an additional 400 BTC (worth around $25 million) and 500 BTC (worth over $30 million) to cryptocurrency exchanges and unknown addresses, respectively, apparently liquidating more of their seized Bitcoin holdings.
- This is in addition to the approximately $170 million worth of Bitcoin that German authorities had already sold off in the past week from their seized holdings.
- The large-scale Bitcoin selloff by German authorities, combined with other factors like outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs, has contributed to the ongoing downward price pressure and volatility in the crypto market.
German authorities appear to be offloading more Bitcoin according to on-chain analysis after previously dumping about $170 million worth of the cryptocurrency in the past week.
German Authorities Move More Bitcoin to Exchanges
The country’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) transferred 400 BTC (worth about $25 million) to cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Kraken on Tuesday. Another 500 BTC (over $30 million worth) was moved to an unknown address, according to blockchain monitoring service Arkham.
Bitcoin Price Impact
The selloffs came as the crypto market continued a bearish run, with BTC priced at about $61,700 at the time of writing. It plunged on Monday, falling below the $60,000 mark multiple times before ticking back upward.
In March, Bitcoin spiked to an all-time high of $73,797 before pulling back. But then it slumped to $56,527 in May before rallying to above $64,000.
Previous Bitcoin Sales
This is in addition to 130M BTC sent to exchanges on 19th June and 65M BTC sent on 20th June, although they received 201M back from Kraken and 55M from wallets linked to Robinhood, Bitstamp and Coinbase.
Currently the German Government holds 46,359 BTC worth $28B at current prices, according to Arkham.
Background on Seizure
The sold Bitcoin was among the assets confiscated from the movie piracy website Movie2k.to. German police seized 50,000 BTC from the piracy website in January, described as the most extensive security of Bitcoins by law enforcement authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany to date.
Market Impact
The large-scale liquidation by the German authorities, combined with large outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs and other factors, contributed to the ongoing price declines in the crypto market.
Potential for Further Sales
Bitrue’s Chief Strategy Officer Robert Quartly-Janeiro suggested to Decrypt last week that German authorities might continue to sell Bitcoin, having taken a view that the price of BTC is to soften for a while to come.
Conclusion
German authorities appear to be continuing to liquidate their seized Bitcoin holdings, adding selling pressure to the already bearish crypto market. It remains to be seen if these sales will continue, or if the government will change course as market conditions evolve. The saga highlights the impact government bitcoin holdings could have on broader market pricing.
