The German and United States governments have reportedly moved millions of dollars’ worth of crypto holdings. The German government executed massive Bitcoin (BTC) transfers, while the U.S. government has moved Ether (ETH) from seized funds.
On July 1, the German government transferred 1,500 BTC, worth roughly $95 million, to multiple crypto exchanges. According to data from the on-chain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence, Germany has moved 2,700 BTC to various exchanges over the past two weeks. These exchanges include Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Kraken. The German government currently holds 44,692 BTC, valued at $2.82 billion.
In the latest transfers, 400 of the 1,500 BTC were sent to the aforementioned crypto exchanges, while 750 BTC was transferred on June 26—250 BTC of which went to Bitstamp and Kraken.
Similarly, the U.S. government made large transactions, moving 3,375 ETH, worth $11.75 million, to an unknown address. These funds were seized from Estonian crypto entrepreneurs Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin. Additionally, on June 30, the U.S. government transferred 11.84 BTC, worth around $743,000, from another seized funds address.
Meanwhile, Germany appears to be liquidating its holdings on major exchanges, while the U.S. government’s movement of funds to an unknown wallet could indicate a general shift in ETH fund management.
Last week, a wallet associated with the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) moved $24 million worth of bitcoin (BTC) to crypto exchanges Kraken and Coinbase.
Additionally, another $30 million in BTC was transferred to an untagged wallet. These transactions follow the movement of $130 million in BTC to exchanges on June 19 and $65 million on June 20. Arkham CEO Miguel More suggested that these moves might indicate an intention to sell the assets.
In total, the German government wallet sold 900 BTC in three transactions on June 25, including 200 BTC to Coinbase, 200 BTC to Kraken, and 500 BTC to an unknown wallet labeled “139Po” by Arkham Intelligence.
The German Federal Criminal Police Office seized nearly 50,000 BTC, valued at over $2 billion at the time, from the operators of Movie2k.to, a film piracy website active in 2013. The BTC was transferred to the BKA in mid-January following a voluntary handover by the suspects.
As of now, the German government’s wallet still holds 46,359 BTC, worth roughly $2.8 billion. This massive holding continues to be a potential source of selling pressure on the market.
The recent transactions raised concerns about the potential impact on bitcoin prices. The now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox is also set to start repaying its users in July, with more than $9.4 billion worth of BTC owed to approximately 127,000 creditors. This could further impact bitcoin prices as these users look to liquidate their recovered funds.
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