Germany Executes Substantial Bitcoin Transactions, Transfers $40 Million in BTC
July 7, 2024
The recent Bitcoin transfers by the German government have continued, with another 700 BTC, equivalent to $40.47 million, being sent to the ‘139PoP’ address over the weekend. This transfer was detected through the on-chain analytics firm Arkham.
This move is seen as a potential signal of the government’s intention to sell the assets, as the unidentified address could belong to an institution or an over-the-counter service provider. Notably, this is not the first interaction between the German government and this address, as authorities have sent over 1,200 BTC to this wallet in the last three days.
The German government initiated Bitcoin transfers to cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase, Bitstamp, and Kraken last month after seizing 50,000 BTC from the film piracy site Movie2k earlier in the year. According to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, Germany has executed a BTC transfer every day this month, resulting in a reduction of its holdings to 39,826 BTC, valued at approximately $2.3 billion.
Criticism has arisen from Joana Cotar, a member of the German Bundestag, who called for the government to establish a comprehensive Bitcoin strategy instead of hastily selling its holdings. Cotar argues that Bitcoin presents an opportunity for diversifying the state’s assets and mitigating risks associated with traditional investments. She highlights Bitcoin’s scarcity and deflationary characteristics, positioning it as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.
TRON founder Justin Sun expressed interest in purchasing the German government’s BTC holdings to minimize its market impact. However, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju noted that government selling activities have had minimal impact on BTC prices, constituting only 4% of the total cumulative realized value since 2023.
Data from Arkham reveals that various governments, including the US, Germany, the United Kingdom, and El Salvador, collectively hold substantial amounts of Bitcoin, totaling around $18 billion.
