- Bitcoin prices plunged precipitously over the past few hours as the German government appears to be preparing to offload more of the asset.
- Around 1,300 coins worth roughly $75 million were transferred from wallets linked to the German government to centralized exchanges Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitstamp.
- The German government has now sent more than $300 million worth of BTC to crypto exchange addresses and an undetermined wallet address, potentially adding selling pressure to Bitcoin’s already declining price.
The price of Bitcoin has fallen sharply in recent hours as the German government looks to sell more of its Bitcoin holdings.
German Wallets Transfer BTC to Exchanges
On July 4th, blockchain security platform PeckShield reported that wallets associated with the German government transferred around 1,300 BTC worth $75 million to major exchanges Coinbase, Kraken and Bitstamp.
This follows earlier transfers on July 2nd when a German government wallet moved 8,327 BTC in four separate transactions.
Large Selling Pressure Expected
Crypto intelligence platform Arkham confirmed the findings, noting that 500 BTC was sent to Bitstamp, 400 BTC to Coinbase and 400 BTC to Kraken. An additional 1,700 BTC worth $987 million was sent to an unknown wallet.
According to Arkham, the German government still holds around $2.3 billion worth of Bitcoin in these wallets. This could lead to significant selling pressure on Bitcoin’s already declining price.
Previous Government Sales
The German government has now transferred over $300 million worth of Bitcoin to exchanges and unknown wallets.
The transfers originated from a wallet linked to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), which seized nearly 50,000 BTC from a film piracy website in 2013. That Bitcoin was worth over $2 billion at the time.
Germany is not the only government liquidating Bitcoin holdings. In June, the US government moved $240 million in BTC linked to Silk Road to Coinbase. The US holds the most Bitcoin of any government.
Bitcoin Price Plummets
This selling pressure has contributed to a 55% decline in Bitcoin’s price over the past few hours, bottoming out around $57,000. Other factors include Mt Gox redemptions, miner selling and US political uncertainty.
Analysts predict Bitcoin could fall as low as $50,000 during this market pullback. The coming days will determine if buyers can absorb the increased selling activity.
