![[NEWS] German government sells 16,000 BTC in 24 hours, the largest amount ever](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.microcms-assets.io%2Fassets%2F7819a9cf917e4bcd862bfa2ff5f14d24%2F702ae51b9ce74b31ac782c1d1f8fb096%2Fgermanbitcoin_1066732808.jpg%3Ffm%3Dwebp&w=3840&q=75)
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According to data from blockchain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence, the German government's Federal Criminal Police Office transferred more than 16,000 Bitcoin (BTC), worth 145 billion yen, to cryptocurrency exchanges and market makers on the 8th and immediately sold them.
Arkham noted that the sale of BTC on the 8th was the largest ever. "The German government transferred an additional 5,200 BTC to Kraken, Bitstamp, Coinbase, and 139Po, making today the largest day ever for the German government, totaling over 16,000 BTC," Arkham said on its official X account.
The German government's wallet quickly sold more than 13,200 BTC after transferring more than 2,700 in the early hours of the 8th. Bitcoin reacted, dropping from 9.17 million yen to 9 million yen, which is equivalent to the level in February.
According to CoinGecko data, there are currently about 19.7 million bitcoins in circulation, worth about $1.77 trillion. The market capitalization has fallen by more than $2.7 trillion in the past 24 hours.
The German government has begun selling bitcoins from wallets held by BKA. According to Arcam data, BKA sold 900 BTC of bitcoins seized from a now-closed movie piracy website in June. Last week, the government sold 3,000 BTC. And BKA sold 2,739 BTC after that.
In January 2024, police in the eastern German state of Saxony announced that they had seized about 50,000 bitcoins. Saxony state police described the seized bitcoins as "the largest Bitcoin seizure in the history of law enforcement in the Federal Republic of Germany."
The bitcoins were seized from the operator of the movie piracy site Movie2k.to, which was active in 2013, and moved to a wallet held by BKA.
According to Arcam, which tracks the movement of the German government's bitcoin wallet, the tokens began moving around in 2013 when they were first seized.
Currently, BKA still holds about 32,488 BTC. At current prices, the government's holdings are worth more than 300 billion yen.
There is opposition to Germany's decision to sell its bitcoin holdings. Joana Cotar, a member of the German Bundestag, argued in a post on X last month that the government should "hold bitcoin as a strategic reserve currency" rather than simply selling it.
Cotard claimed he had written to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Saxony state premier Michael Kretschmer, telling them that selling Bitcoin would be "not only unwise but counterproductive."
Cotard said he had invited German officials to a talk by prominent Bitcoin influencer Samson Mow at Berlin's Paul Loebe-Haus on October 17.
References: Arcam Intelligence, Arcam's X
Images: Shutterstock
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