Germanys Bitcoin sales reach a significant milestone
Bitcoin (BTC) recently plummeted to a low not seen in four months, shedding more than 25% from its peak of $73,135 reached on March 13, resulting in a massive loss and triggering a broader decline in the cryptocurrency market. Currently, BTC is trading at $55,291, having dropped by 3.06% in the last 24 hours, adding to the 10.11% decrease over the past week.
Since its peak market cap of $1.4 trillion on March 13, the flagship digital asset has lost $350 billion, according to the latest data from CoinMarketCap reported by Finbold. This downward trend has been fueled by a high volume of sales and the recent repayment of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox, which has started repaying investors nearly $9 billion in Bitcoin owed to creditors.
The German government, one of the largest holders of Bitcoin globally, has begun selling off its BTC holdings. The government acquired BTC after the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) confiscated nearly 50,000 Bitcoins, valued at around $10 million at the time, linked to the former operator of the film piracy website Movie2K in 2013. The selling spree commenced on June 26, with the government sending 750 BTC worth $46.3 million to exchanges Coinbase, Bitsamp, and Kraken.
Over the following days, the German government continued to offload Bitcoin, making substantial profits. As of now, they have sold a total of 6,625 Bitcoins for a profit of $397 million, leaving them with 39,816 Bitcoins worth $2.2 billion. Despite criticism from Bundestag member Joana Cotar about the government’s decision to sell its Bitcoin holdings, the narrative that this sale directly caused the recent market crash may be inaccurate.
Developer Samson Mow pointed out that a significant portion of the coins sent to exchanges were returned to the same wallets, suggesting that the German government may have reconsidered its decision to sell Bitcoin in the current market conditions. This indicates that the market crash may not have been solely due to the government’s actions.
