- The German government transferred thousands of bitcoins to exchanges like Kraken, Coinbase, Bitstamp, and market makers like Cumberland DRW, B2C2 Group, and Flow Traders.
- These transfers were part of an ongoing selling spree by the German government, despite criticism from some lawmakers who argue against hastily selling the bitcoins.
- Despite the selling, the price of Bitcoin has rebounded intraday and is currently down less than 0.6% over the past 24 hours, according to The Block’s data.
The German government has been actively transferring its bitcoin holdings to exchanges and OTC desks over the past couple days. This selling spree has sparked criticism from German politicians who argue the government should be accumulating bitcoin as a strategic asset.
Recent Selling Activity
On Monday morning, the German government moved 250 bitcoins to Bitstamp, 250 bitcoins to Coinbase, and 500 bitcoins to an unlabeled OTC address.
Later in the day, it transferred 1,337 bitcoins to Cumberland DRW, 150 coins to Kraken, and 1,000 coins to B2C2 Group according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham.
Additional transfers were made to Coinbase (300 BTC), Bitstamp (300 BTC), and Flow Traders (1,000 BTC).
German Politicians Voice Disapproval
The German government’s hasty selling of its bitcoin holdings has faced backlash from bitcoin-friendly politicians.
Joana Cotar, a member of the German Bundestag, criticized the government’s lack of a comprehensive bitcoin strategy. She argued the government should be holding bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset instead of dumping it on exchanges.
Bitcoin Price Impact
Despite the heavy selling pressure from the German government, bitcoin’s price has remained resilient.
At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading down less than 0.6% over the past 24 hours according to The Block’s Bitcoin Price Page.
The German government still holds an estimated $2 billion worth of bitcoin reserves based on Arkham’s data.
