Crypto News – Germany’s Bitcoin Holdings in Question: Arkham-Tagged Wallet Raises Eyebrows

Crypto News – Germany’s Bitcoin Holdings in Question: Arkham-Tagged Wallet Sparks Inquiry

Crypto News – The recent movement of Bitcoin from a crypto wallet identified as belonging to the German government, labeled “German Government (BKA)” by the crypto analytics firm Arkham, has piqued the interest of the community. Speculation abounds as to whether this signals the German government’s decision to divest itself of its BTC holdings.

According to data from Arkham, this wallet has been holding close to 50,000 Bitcoin since February 2024, with a value currently estimated at around $65,111 per BTC. However, on June 19, it initiated significant movements, transferring nearly 6,500 BTC. These funds are believed to have been seized from the operator of the pirated movie website Movie2k.

Bitcoin Transactions and the Movement of Government Seized Funds

The wallet executed four transactions on June 19, including an outflow of 6,500 BTC worth over $425 million to the address “bc1q0unygz3ddt8x0v33s6ztxkrnw0s0tl7zk4yxwd”, and another of 2,500 BTC worth $154 million to its own address. Subsequently, the wallet received 6,500 BTC, part of which was then transferred to another address, “bc1qq0l4jgg9rcm3puhhfwaz4c9t8hdee8hfz6738z.” This address further distributed the received funds in four transactions of 500 BTC each, with two of these transactions going to crypto exchanges Kraken and Bitstamp, and the others to undisclosed private addresses.

Currently, the German government-linked wallet holds 43,359 BTC, valued at approximately $2.83 billion. While not all transferred funds were liquidated, speculation abounds regarding the potential impact of such a significant sell-off. Some within the crypto community have attributed the recent rise in short positions and the Bitcoin market dip to the perceived selling activities of the German government.

This event underscores a broader trend of governments worldwide confiscating Bitcoin and other digital assets from criminals and periodically auctioning off seized holdings. Notably, the United States government previously sold a substantial portion of BTC seized from the Silk Road dark web marketplace in auctions, with American businessman and Bitcoin advocate Tim Draper among the buyers in 2014.

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