Addresses linked to the German government by crypto analytics firm Arkham moved 250 BTC each to Coinbase and Bitstamp. A further 500 BTC worth $28 million was also sent to an unidentified address.
Per an Arkham Intelligence dashboard, the German government’s Bitcoin holdings amount to 38,826 BTC seized as a result of criminal cases, worth over $2.23 billion at current prices. The bulk of its holdings were seized in January as the result of a piracy sting, when Bitcoin was trading at around $46,000.
In recent days, the German government has been offloading its Bitcoin through crypto exchanges, prompting the price of Bitcoin to plunge to lows of under $55,000 and wreaking havoc on the wider crypto markets. At time of publication, the price of Bitcoin has recovered to around $57,590, trading flat on the day.
Over the weekend, an independent Member of the Bundestag, Joana Cotar, accused the German government of having “no strategy” for dealing with Bitcoin, arguing that, “I’m not at all sure whether the government was or is aware of the consequences of its sales.”
Others have seized the opportunity presented by Germany’s Bitcoin sales, with controversial Tron founder Justin Sun making a public offer to buy the German government’s remaining BTC holdings in order to “minimize the impact on the market.”
Bitcoin selling pressure
Analysts told Decrypt that selling pressure on Bitcoin would be unlikely to decrease in the coming days, with Germany’s sell-off over the past week compounded by the transfer of funds from the bankruptcy estate of defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox.
Mt. Gox users are awaiting restitution of up to $7.7 billion in funds lost due to a hack more than 10 years ago, with repayments expected to kick off in July.
