The German government continued to transfer parts of its massive bitcoin stash to exchanges on Monday, moving more than $56 million across multiple transactions.
according to Blockchain DataAt 14:48 UTC+8 today, addresses linked to the German government transferred a total of 500 BTC to Bitstamp and Coinbase (250 BTC each), worth approximately $27.9 million, and also transferred 500 BTC to an unmarked address.
Urgent: 🇩🇪 German government sends 1000 more #Bitcoin It is worth $56 million on the stock exchanges 👀 pic.twitter.com/zsxg3q2tkV
— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) July 8, 2024
In 2013, Germany seized nearly 50,000 bitcoins from the operators of the now-defunct pirate site Movie2K. The hoard is worth an estimated $2.3 billion at today’s prices.
This comes after the government transferred about $390 million worth of Bitcoin to various platforms since mid-June.
The steady flow of transfers to exchanges points to possible German intentions to liquidate parts of its reserves. While the reasons remain uncertain, the sales have exacerbated volatility in the price of bitcoin, which fell below $55,000 last week.
However, the amounts transferred so far represent only a relatively small fraction of Germany’s massive holdings. After the latest transactions, the government still owns about 40,000 bitcoins worth an estimated $2.2 billion.
However, the remaining reserves represent a significant share of daily Bitcoin trading volumes. As such, experts warn that the threat of further turmoil remains as long as Germany remains active in limiting exposure.
The liquidations come as long-awaited repayments to creditors from the 2014 Mt. Gox collapse appear set to begin, and the timing could exacerbate selling pressure on Bitcoin amid an already bearish macro environment.