German government continues Bitcoin transfers to exchanges

On Tuesday (July 9), the German government transferred $339.2 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to various centralized crypto exchanges and market makers, following significant transfers the previous day.

Data gathered from blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence shows that the transfers included several significant moves to major players in the crypto space. Kraken received 800 BTC, while a suspected B2C2 Group address got 5,000 BTC.

Crypto investment firm Cumberland DRW was sent 107 BTC, and 400 BTC went to an unidentified address. Notably, the government also received 1,692 BTC from Bitstamp.

These transfers are part of an ongoing process that began last month, following the seizure of 50,000 BTC from the Movie2k piracy site in January. On Monday, over 15,000 BTC were moved to market makers and exchanges, with a portion later returned from Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Kraken.

Steven Zheng, Research Director at The Block, suggests the returned Bitcoin was likely unsold due to price range restrictions. Currently, the German government holds 22,846 BTC, worth approximately $1.3 billion, according to Arkham Intelligence data.

Not everyone is on board

This decision to sell has faced criticism, with Bundestag member Joana Cotar urging the government to retain the funds as a strategic asset. Bitcoin’s current price is $57,341, unchanged over 24 hours but down 12% since the government began its transfers on June 18.

In a recent X post, Cotar suggested that the ongoing sale of Bitcoin by the German government is counterproductive. She wrote:

Instead of holding Bitcoin as a strategic reserve currency, as is already being debated in the USA, our government is selling it on a large scale.

I have informed [minister-president of Saxony Michael Kretschmer, Free Democratic Party leader Christian Lindner and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz]  about why this is not only nonsensical but counterproductive, and I have invited them to our lecture event with Samson Mow.

Cotar’s remarks followed early July reports that the German government moved $150 million worth of Bitcoin at once.

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