German Government Moves $40 Million in Bitcoin Amidst Calls for a Comprehensive Strategy

German Government Extends Significant Bitcoin Transfers

The German government has continued its significant Bitcoin (BTC) transfers, extending a trend that began last month.

Details of Recent Transfers

Bitcoin addresses linked to German authorities sent another 700 BTC, worth $40.47 million, to the ‘139PoP’ address this weekend. This transfer was identified by the on-chain analytics firm Arkham.

Reports suggest this transfer might indicate an intention to sell the assets. The unlabeled address could belong to an institution or over-the-counter service provider. This is not the first interaction with the address; in the past three days, authorities have sent more than 1,200 BTC to this wallet.

Ongoing Bitcoin Transfers

The German government began transferring Bitcoin to exchanges like Coinbase, Bitstamp, and Kraken last month. This followed the seizure of 50,000 BTC from the film piracy site Movie2k earlier this year. Blockchain analytic platform Lookonchain noted that Germany has made a BTC transfer every day this month. These actions reduced its holdings to 39,826 BTC, valued at around $2.3 billion.

Political and Market Reactions

This continuous selling has drawn criticism from Joana Cotar, a member of the German Bundestag. Cotar urged the government to develop a comprehensive Bitcoin strategy instead of hastily selling its holdings. She argues that Bitcoin offers an opportunity to diversify state assets and reduce traditional investment risks. Cotar points out Bitcoin’s scarcity and deflationary nature as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.

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

Meanwhile, TRON founder Justin Sun offered to purchase the German government’s BTC holdings to reduce its market impact. However, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju argues that government selling activities have minimal impact on BTC prices. These activities account for only 4% of the total cumulative realized value since 2023.

“$224 billion has flowed into this market since 2023. Government-seized BTC contributes about $9 billion to the realized cap. It’s only 4% of the total cumulative realized value since 2023. Don’t let govt selling FUD ruin your trades,” Ju wrote.