German Government Moves Portion of $2.8 Billion Bitcoin Holdings to Kraken and Coinbase, Reveals On-Chain Data

The German government has been observed transferring a significant amount of Bitcoin to cryptocurrency exchanges as Bitcoin makes a recovery from the $60,000 level. Data from the blockchain analysis platform Arkham reveals that the German government’s Bitcoin wallet moved a total of 900 BTC within the last 24 hours.

Arkham’s data indicates that the German wallet sent 200 BTC to the crypto exchange Kraken and another 200 coins to Coinbase. Additionally, 500 BTC were transferred to an address starting with “139PoPE,” potentially another exchange wallet whose identity remains unknown.

Recently, Arkham reported that the German government moved over $195 million worth of Bitcoin to six crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitstamp, over a two-day period. The government is selling the BTC seized during an investigation into Movie2k.to, an illegal streaming site that distributed over 880,000 pirated films between 2008 and May 2013.

The Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that the operators of the site used the proceeds from their illegal activities to purchase Bitcoin. The seizure of Bitcoin in connection with the investigation is the largest of its kind in Germany to date, with nearly 50,000 BTC confiscated, valued at $2.17 billion at the time.

As of the latest data, Bitcoin is trading at $61,510. The German government’s actions in moving significant amounts of Bitcoin to exchanges reflect ongoing developments in the cryptocurrency market.

This movement of Bitcoin by the German government underscores the increasing involvement of institutional entities in the crypto space and their impact on market dynamics. The utilization of blockchain analytics tools like Arkham provides insights into such transactions, shedding light on the behavior of large Bitcoin holders like governments and their interactions with the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem.