German Government Divests All Bitcoin Holdings, Concluding Process Begun in June

The German government has completely divested its Bitcoin holdings after 23 days of sales, concluding the process it began in late June, according to Arkham Intelligence data.

The German government has fully divested its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings after 23 days of sales, concluding a process that began in late June, according to data from Arkham Intelligence.

The government transferred the final batch of 3,846.05 BTC — valued at roughly $223.81 million at press time — to Flow Traders and 139Po, which are likely institutional deposit or over-the-counter (OTC) services, Arkham said.

The flagship cryptocurrency was trading at $57,656 as of press time, based on CryptoSlate data.

Seized Bitcoin

The divestment marks the end of the German government’s direct involvement in the crypto market, which began when it seized Bitcoin from the operators of Movie2k.to, a defunct piracy website.

Strategic liquidation of seized assets is not uncommon among governments. The United States has taken similar actions, auctioning off large amounts of cryptocurrency seized from illegal activities.

Coinbase Institutional reported that the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), Germany’s federal criminal police office, began selling the seized Bitcoin in mid-June. These sales caused a rise in supply that affected the market, leading to fluctuations in Bitcoin prices.

Since June, police-operated wallets have been systematically transferring funds to various exchanges and OTC desks, as well as an unidentified address.

ETFs, whales accumulate

The timing of these German Bitcoin sales has coincided with significant inflows into US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Over the most recent four trading sessions, the ETFs have absorbed approximately $801 million in BTC.

Additionally, a recent CryptoQuant report highlighted that whales have been aggressively purchasing the token at the fastest rate since April 2023, taking advantage of the lower prices resulting from Germany’s sell-off.

Arkham’s tracker now shows a zero balance for the German government’s Bitcoin holdings, marking a significant shift in the crypto landscape. The impact of this divestment on the market continues to unfold as institutional and individual investors react to the increased availability of Bitcoin.