According to data shared by Lookonchain, the German government has transferred an additional 750 BTC, valued at approximately $46.35 million. Around $15.41 million or 250 BTC of this amount was sent to crypto exchanges Bitstamp and Kraken.
Despite these transfers, the entity still maintains a significant Bitcoin reserve, currently holding 45,609 BTC, which has an estimated value of $2.81 billion.
Large Transfers and Test Transactions
Data revealed that the German government also transferred 0.001 BTC to Flow Traders, which may be a test transaction. This suggests that the authorities may be exploring additional avenues for selling the Bitcoin holdings through this trading firm.
The recent movements are part of a larger trend, with over 2,000 BTC sold from the address identified to be of the government, which coincided with a period of market turmoil.
The development comes just a day after Arkham Intelligence flagged a wallet linked to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), which moved $24 million worth of Bitcoin to Kraken and Coinbase exchanges. An additional $30 million in BTC was transferred to a new untagged wallet. These movements are in addition to transfers made on June 19 and 20, totaling $130 million and $65 million, respectively.
The origin of this Bitcoin trove can be traced back to the seizure by the BKA from the operators of Movie2k.to, a now-defunct film piracy website that was active in 2013. The seized amount, nearly 50,000 BTC, was worth over $2 billion at the time of confiscation. The BKA received these funds in mid-January following a “voluntary transfer” from a suspect involved in the case.
Bitcoin Retreats Again
Recent fluctuations in the market seemed to be influenced by the German government’s Bitcoin transfers, as well as other factors that briefly caused a dip in the underlying asset’s price, dragging it below $60,000 earlier this week. The latest action of Bitcoin divestment has once again added pressure to the market.
The top digital asset had soared to $62,400 after the market-wide crash, but the overall pressure resulted in another decline. As of now, BTC struggles to remain above $61,000.
This article first appeared at CryptoPotato