Bitcoin
Germany’s $3 Billion Bitcoin (BTC) Sell-Off Spree Is Almost Over
The German state of Saxony is quickly running out of bitcoin (BTC) to sell after moving another batch of its seized assets to cryptocurrency exchanges and brokerages on Thursday.
Bitcoin wallets linked to German authorities transferred a total of 10,567 BTC worth over $600 million in multiple batches throughout the day to cryptocurrency exchanges Bitstamp, Coinbase, Kraken and other service providers such as Flow Traders and Cumberland DRW. blockchain data by Arkham Intelligence shows.
After today’s transactions, wallets linked to authorities held just 4,925 BTC, worth $285 million at current prices, down from 50,000 BTC, worth nearly $3 billion, since they began selling the assets three weeks ago.
This means that the bitcoin sell-off in Germany could end as early as Friday or early next week at the current pace, as wallets have offloaded around 35,000 BTC so far this week.
The tally could change in the final hours due to the wallet’s odd practice of receiving a portion of transferred assets, sometimes in the $10 million range, back from exchanges and brokers before the end of the day. (Greg Cipolaro, head of research at digital asset manager NYDIG, called the on-chain activity “perplexing” in a Wednesday Note.)
The imminent end to Germany’s $3 billion selloff could ease the fears of cryptocurrency investors, who have been fixated on the on-chain movements of potential big sellers in the market in recent weeks, linking the recent drop in asset prices to concerns about oversupply.
Bitcoin’s 15% correction last month coincided with the U.S. government, which holds more than $12 billion in seized bitcoin, transferring $240 million in Silk Road-related BTC to Coinbase and the now-defunct Japanese exchange’s assets Mt. Gox starting refunds of 140,000 BTC to creditors this month, who may want to withdraw after ten years of waiting.
Fears about looming selling pressure may have been overblown, NYDIG’s Cipolaro said in a report, with bitcoin’s decline exceeding the impact on price if all potential selling materializes.