Key Points
- German authorities have reportedly transferred another $15.4 million in Bitcoin to crypto exchanges Bitstamp and Kraken.
- The German government currently holds an estimated 45,609 BTC, worth around $2.8 billion at current prices.
Crypto addresses linked to German authorities seem to have transferred another 250 Bitcoin (BTC) (equivalent to $15.4 million) to Bitstamp and Kraken on Wednesday. This suggests a possible intention to sell these assets.
Transfers to Crypto Exchanges
The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) reportedly transferred 125 BTC ($7.7 million) to each crypto exchange around 7:52 a.m. UTC. At the same time, it also sent 500 BTC ($30.9 million) to an unidentified address “139Po.” This address could also belong to an exchange.
Additionally, 0.001 BTC was transferred to market maker Flow Traders by the German Government, which might have been a test transaction.
Seized Bitcoins
The German government began sending Bitcoin to crypto exchanges last week after seizing 50,000 BTC from the film-piracy site Movie2k in January. On Tuesday, it sent 400 BTC ($24.3 million) to Coinbase and Kraken, and 500 BTC ($30.4 million) to the “139Po” address.
So far, around $150 million worth of the seized Bitcoin has been transferred to crypto exchanges, with a further $147 million sent to the “139Po” address.
However, it seems that the German government received back 310 BTC ($20.1 million) from Kraken last week. It also received a total of 90 BTC ($5.5 million) since June 20 from wallets associated with Robinhood, Bitstamp and Coinbase.
Germany is one of the largest known nation-state holders of Bitcoin, behind the United States, China, and the UK. The current price of Bitcoin is $61,384. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap has fallen around 6% since the German government started moving funds to exchanges last week.
The value of Bitcoin briefly dropped below $60,000 on Monday following the announcement that the defunct Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox is set to distribute around $9 billion worth of Bitcoin and Bitcoin cash repayments from July.