The German government has continued its strategic sale of bitcoins, moving approximately 3,448.25 BTC ($197.4 million) to various crypto exchanges and market makers on Friday. Following these latest transactions, Germany now holds around 6,146 bitcoins ($350 million), down from the original 50,000 bitcoins seized from the online film piracy platform Movie2K in January.
On Friday, bitcoins were transferred to wallets associated with Bitstamp, Coinbase, Kraken, B2C2 Group, Cumberland DRW, and an unidentified OTC service address, as per data from Arkham Intelligence. This included a significant transfer of 500 BTC ($28.6 million) to a presumed OTC service address, followed by 400 BTC ($22.9 million) each to Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitstamp, and 1,000 BTC ($57.3 million) to a B2C2 Group wallet. Some bitcoins were returned to government wallets from Bitstamp and Kraken shortly after.
The German government’s systematic liquidation follows the transfer of 10,627 BTC on Thursday, valued at $615.3 million at the time, with returned funds suggesting incomplete sales. Bitcoin’s price has fallen by 12% since these sales began on June 18, closing at $56,902 yesterday.
Independent Bundestag member and bitcoin advocate Joana Cotar criticized the ongoing sales as counterproductive, emphasizing the impact on bitcoin’s market value.