Is Germany selling BTC? A wallet marked by Arkham aroused curiosity
A crypto wallet labeled “German Government (BKA)” posted by crypto onchain analytics firm Arkham started moving Bitcoin on June 19, sparking curiosity among the community. The wallet activity has led many to believe that the German government is selling off its BTC holdings.
The German government seized BTC from the looted movie theater
According to Arkham data, the crypto wallet held nearly 50,000 bitcoins (BTC) on June 19, before moving around 6,500 BTC since February 2024. The money is believed to have been seized from stolen movie website operator Movie2k.
The wallet linked to the German government made four transactions on June 19, one with 6,500 BTC worth more than $425 million going out to wallet address “bc1q0unygz3ddt8x0v33s6ztxkrnw0s0tl7zk4yxwd” and another with 2,500 BTC worth $15.
The wallet address received 6,500 BTC and moved 2,500 BTC to another wallet address “bc1qq0l4jgg9rcm3puhhfwaz4c9t8hdee8hfz6738z”. This wallet address moved the newly received funds in four 500 BTC transactions. Two of these transactions were made to crypto exchanges Kraken and Bitstamp, while the other two were routed to unaccounted private addresses.
A wallet posted by the German government currently holds 43,359 BTC worth $2.83 billion. While not all of the transferred funds have been released, several crypto personalities have commented on the potential impact of selling such a large BTC stock.
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A crypto trader has suggested that the recent increase in short positions and the decline in the Bitcoin market may be due to the German government's sell-off.
Governments around the world sell their BTC
Governments around the world often confiscate Bitcoin and other digital assets from criminals, and occasionally hold auctions to sell confiscated crypto holdings.
The United States government has sold a significant portion of the BTC seized from the popular dark web marketplace Silk Road. Tim Draper, an American businessman and Bitcoin advocate, bought Silk Road BTC in 2014 at an auction organized by the US Marshals.
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