News
Germany Still Holds $1.3 Billion in Bitcoin, Blockchain Data Shows
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According to Arkham Intelligence, Germany still holds 23,800 BTC worth $1.3 billion.
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The potential selling pressure is equivalent to 5% of bitcoin’s 24-hour trading volume.
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Since mid-June, Germany has begun to run out of currency reserves.
Bitcoin {{BTC}} Sales in Germany AND Mt. Gox Refunds have recently rocked the cryptocurrency market and the drama may not be over yet.
The Eurozone’s largest economy still holds 23,800 BTC worth $1.3 trillion, according to data tracked by Arkham IntelligenceThe pending coin supply, a potential selling pressure, represents nearly 5% of BTC Trading Volume in 24 Hours of $25.3 billion, suggesting further price turbulence.
Earlier this year, the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) 49,857 BTC seized from the operators of Movie2k.to, a privacy website that was last active in 2013. Since mid-June, the government has liquidated over 10,000 BTC, putting downward pressure on the cryptocurrency’s current market rate. It has transferred a further portion of its holdings Today.
The spot price of BTC has fallen nearly 20% to $55,490 in four weeks, with prices down nearly 13% in the last seven days alone, according to data from CoinDesk. CoinDesk Index 20 (CD20)a broader market gauge, fell nearly 14% to 1,870 points in a week.
Last week, the founder of Tron Justin Sun has offered to buy German government takes BTC off the market to reduce negative impact on spot price.
According to some observers, Germany’s BTC sales represent a strategic mistake that puts the country at a geopolitical disadvantage.
“The German government has foolishly transferred more than $390 million in BTC to exchanges in recent weeks to sell for fiat currency. From a geopolitical perspective, it is a strategic mistake for any nation state to sell their bitcoin reserves for fiat currency, as they can simply print the latter out of thin air,” the July 5 edition of Blockware Intelligence newsletter stated.
“By comparison, bitcoin is much more difficult to acquire, given the enormous amount of physical energy required to mine it and its limited supply of 21,000,000,” the newsletter added.
UPDATE (July 8, 15:28 UTC): Updates holdings and value to reflect movements in assets since this article was originally published; adds today’s move in third paragraph.