Yesterday, the online data analytics platform Arkham detected that the wallet address associated with the German government (BKA) began transferring Bitcoin, moving a total of 1,110 Bitcoins to several exchanges including Kraken and Bitstamp. This has raised concerns in the market about the possibility of the government continuing to sell Bitcoin.
According to the data from Arkham, the German government started transferring assets on June 19th, with 500 Bitcoins each being transferred to the cryptocurrency exchanges Kraken and Bitstamp. Additionally, 40 Bitcoins were transferred to Gemini, BitFlyer, and Coinbase. In total, 1,110 Bitcoins were moved to exchanges, valued at approximately $72.4 million. It is highly likely that these Bitcoins were transferred for the purpose of selling.
Currently, the German government still holds 47,859 Bitcoins, valued at around $3.12 billion. It is uncertain whether they will continue to sell in the short term, as government processes usually do not consider the impact on the market. It is worth noting whether there will be further transfers of Bitcoin to exchanges.
This move by the German government has sparked discussions in the market. @DaanCrypto, a prominent cryptocurrency trader with over 370,000 followers, claims that the recent increase in short positions and the decline in the Bitcoin market may be due to the government’s sell-off.
Governments around the world frequently confiscate Bitcoin and other digital assets from criminals. The United States, in particular, is the largest holder of Bitcoin and is currently the 6th largest holder, with 217,000 Bitcoins (valued at approximately $14.14 billion).
Given the large scale of Bitcoin holdings by governments worldwide, how they handle these Bitcoins has always been a topic of market concern. For example, last year in February, the US government sold 9,861 Bitcoins that were once owned by Silk Road on Coinbase.
As for the source of the German government’s Bitcoins, according to a post by Arkham in February of this year, the wallet belongs to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) of Germany, which is responsible for combating major criminal activities and ensuring social order and public safety. The BKA confiscated nearly 50,000 Bitcoins (valued at $2.12 billion at the time) from the operator of the website Movie2k, which was involved in illegal movie piracy, in 2013. The BKA received these Bitcoins in mid-January.
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