German Gov’t Sends $24 Million More Bitcoin To Kraken, Coinbase As Its BTC Selling Spree Continues
A wallet linked to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) appears to be dumping more Bitcoin (BTC), as per on-chain data, after previously dumping roughly $170 million worth of the alpha cryptocurrency in the last week.
On Tuesday, the BKA transferred 400 BTC, worth about $24 million, in two different transactions to cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Kraken.
German Officials Continue Massive Bitcoin Sell-Off
On Tuesday morning, the German Federal Criminal Police Office’s wallet sent 400 BTC ($24.34 million) to Coinbase and Kraken, indicating an intention to sell the assets.
Another 500 BTC (over $30 million worth) was moved to wallet “139Po,” which remains unknown at press time, according to on-chain analytics provider Arkham Intelligence.
“This is in addition to the $130 million BTC sent to exchanges on 19th June and $65 million BTC sent on 20th June, although they received $20.1 million back from Kraken and $5.5 million from wallets linked to Robinhood, Bitstamp, and Coinbase,” Arkham added.
The BTC in question originates from a confiscation of almost 50,000 BTC, worth over $2 billion at the time, from operators of the movie piracy website Movie2k. The BKA received the Bitcoin in January after the suspects voluntarily transferred the BTC to wallets controlled by German law enforcement.
These sell-offs come as Bitcoin’s price endured downward pressure, trading around $61,390 at the time of writing. The apex crypto has plummeted 10.8% on the monthly chart and over 5% weekly, according to CoinGecko data.
More BTC Selling Pressure From Germany, Mt. Gox?
Following today’s transfers, the German government currently holds 46,359 BTC, valued at around $2.8 billion at the current market prices. This makes Germany among the largest known nation-state holders of the premier crypto, behind the United States, China, and the UK. The officials could add significant selling pressure if they continue offloading coins, which could drag the price of Bitcoin below the psychologically important $60,000 level.
Moreover, Mt. Gox repayments commencing next week could further add to the bearish sentiment. As ZyCrypto reported earlier, the Mt. Gox rehabilitation trustee is set to distribute roughly $9 billion worth of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) to creditors of the defunct exchange who have been waiting for over a decade to recover their money.
“There isn’t a massive ‘dump’ from Germany or Gox,” Samson Mow, CEO of Bitcoin adoption firm Jan3, posited, in a post on the X (aka Twitter) platform, adding that Mt.Gox sale will have “minimal impact” on the Bitcoin price.
“Right now this Bitcoin dip is purely sentiment and fear-driven, not from selling of large holdings. Even when Gox coins come to market, if there are sales, they will likely be via OTC and will have minimal impact on price.”
