Thursday saw the German government execute a planned series of bitcoin transfers to major exchanges Bitstamp, Kraken, and Coinbase, intending to liquidate holdings. At approximately 7:50 a.m. UTC, they moved 375 bitcoins ($21.8 million) to each exchange, totaling 1,125 bitcoins ($65.3 million). Simultaneously, 1,000 bitcoins ($58.1 million) were allocated to B2C2 Group, while an additional 250 bitcoins ($14.5 million) went to an over-the-counter (OTC) service.
Later that morning, 152 bitcoins ($8.9 million) were directed to crypto market maker Cumberland DRW, followed by another 100 bitcoins ($5.9 million) an hour later. This day’s transactions totaled 2,627 bitcoins transferred out, valued at $152.7 million. Despite these transfers, the German government still holds approximately 12,925 bitcoins, currently valued at over $756 million.
The previous day, significant movements included over 10,853 bitcoins transferred, valued at $637.7 million at the time, to similar entities. Of those, 2,422 bitcoins ($142 million) were subsequently returned, likely unsold from prior transactions.
These actions form part of the German government’s strategy to manage the liquidation of 50,000 confiscated bitcoins seized from Movie2K, a defunct film piracy website, in January. Joana Cotar, an independent member of the German Bundestag and a prominent advocate for bitcoin, criticized this strategy as “counterproductive.”
In terms of market impact, Bitcoin’s price saw a minor decline of less than 1% on the day, currently standing at $58,342. This reflects a broader decrease of approximately 10% since June 18, coinciding with the start of the German authorities’ asset transfers to various exchanges.
