German Government Divests All Bitcoin Holdings
The German government has sold all its bitcoin holdings, according to data from crypto intelligence firm Arkham. “The German government is now out of bitcoin,” the firm wrote. This divestment began in June, with funds transferred to exchanges and institutional services.
German Government Sells Off Bitcoin Holdings
The German government transferred the last batch of 3,846.05 BTC, valued at $223.81 million, to Flow Traders and 139Po, likely for institutional deposit or OTC services, according to Arkham. The crypto intelligence firm posted this information on social media platform X on Friday, confirming:
Arkham detailed:
“The German government just sent 3846.05 BTC ($223.81M) to Flow Traders and 139Po (likely institutional deposit/OTC service). The German government has 0 BTC ($0.00M) remaining.”
Process and Market Impact
This divestment process started at the end of June 2024. The BTC originally stemmed from the operators of Movie2k.to, a now-defunct piracy website. Police-operated wallets have been transferring funds to various exchanges, including Coinbase, Bitstamp, Kraken, and Cumberland, as well as Flow Traders and an unknown address. Coinbase Institutional said that the German government’s Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) began selling seized bitcoin in mid-June, creating supply overhangs that unsettled the market.
Coinciding Market Activities
These German bitcoin transfers have coincided with inflows into U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) over the recent four trading sessions, during which U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs absorbed approximately $801 million in BTC. Additionally, a report from cryptoquant.com indicates aggressive purchasing by whales, who are taking advantage of lower prices. According to the report, these large holders have been acquiring BTC at the fastest rate since April 2023.
