Germany Sends Bitcoin to Various Exchanges
German authorities have transferred an additional 282.74 BTC, valued at $17.6 million, to cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Bitstamp, and Kraken. This has sparked speculation about a possible asset sell-off.
On-Chain Detection
Arkham, an on-chain analytics provider, detected these transactions. They have been tracking Bitcoin movements from addresses linked to the German government.
This action follows a series of Bitcoin transfers initiated by the German government in recent weeks. The country’s significant Bitcoin holdings, estimated at around $3 billion, were seized from the piracy website Movie2k.to.
Major Bitcoin Seizure
In January, German police confiscated 50,000 BTC from Movie2k.to. According to a press release, this was the “most extensive security of Bitcoins by law enforcement authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany to date.”
Bitcoin Transfers Details
On July 2, around 8:20 a.m. UTC, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) sent 100 BTC ($6.2 million) to Coinbase, 150 BTC ($9.4 million) to Bitstamp, and 32.74 BTC ($2 million) to Kraken, as per Arkham’s data. Additionally, 550 BTC ($34.3 million) were sent to an address labeled “139Po.” Arkham has yet to identify this address but suspects it might belong to an exchange.
In total, the German government has transferred about $193 million worth of seized Bitcoin to known exchange addresses. Moreover, an extra $251 million has been sent to the “139Po” address.
Past Transfers and Current Holdings
Earlier, on July 1, the government sent 200 BTC ($12.6 million) to Bitstamp, 100 BTC ($6.3 million) to Coinbase, and 100 BTC ($6.3 million) to Kraken. Additionally, 1,100 BTC ($69.4 million) were sent to the “139Po” address.
On June 26, the German government transferred 345.34 BTC ($21.2 million) to market maker Flow Traders after a test transaction. This led to speculation that the Bitcoin might have been sold through the firm. However, on June 27, the government received 475 BTC ($29.2 million) back from addresses linked to Kraken, Bitstamp, and Coinbase.
Earlier, it received 310 BTC ($20.1 million) from Kraken on June 20 and another 90 BTC ($5.5 million) from wallets associated with Robinhood, Bitstamp, and Coinbase.
Currently, the German government holds approximately 43,859 BTC, valued at around $2.7 billion. This makes Germany one of the largest known nation-state holders of Bitcoin, following the United States, China, and the UK.
Bitcoin Price Remains Flat
Bitcoin is trading at around $62,739, remaining largely flat over the past day. Although it has recovered from last week’s brief dip below $60,000, it is still significantly lower than its early June price of over $71,000.
Meanwhile, analysts from QCP Capital note that both Bitcoin and Ether historically perform well in July due to positive seasonality. “Looking at seasonality, BTC has a median return of 9.6% in July and tends to bounce back strongly, especially after a negative June (-9.85%),” they wrote in a recent note.
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