Arkham, a blockchain-based institution: German government sells nearly $200 million worth of BTC, still holds 47,000 coins

The German Federal Criminal Police Office seized 50,000 bitcoins earlier this year, making the German government the fourth largest holder of bitcoins. However, blockchain analysis firm Arkham pointed out that the country is currently selling nearly $200 million worth of bitcoins.

Germany Sells Nearly $200 Million in BTC

Online analytics firm Arkham cited data indicating that the German Federal Criminal Police Office, known as Bundeskriminalamt or BKA, has reportedly sold nearly $200 million worth of Bitcoin.

The BKA address originally held around 50,000 BTC. On the 18th, they first conducted small transfers of 0.001 BTC as tests to exchanges like Kraken and Bitstamp. Subsequently, they transferred 500 BTC to each of them and 700 BTC to Coinbase.

However, they later transferred back 310 BTC from Kraken. As of the time of writing, BKA still holds 47,179 BTC, worth around $3.05 billion.

Germany's BKA Once Had an $1.1 Billion Unrealized Profit

In January of this year, BKA seized 50,000 BTC from an operator of a pirated movie website, marking the largest cryptocurrency seizure in German history. Although the prosecutor did not name the website, it was revealed in a 2020 investigation to be movie2k.co.

According to German prosecutors, the website operator used profits from advertisements and subscriptions to buy Bitcoin on a large scale. After one operator was investigated, they voluntarily transferred 50,000 BTC to a government wallet provided by BKA. At that time, BKA stated that they had not yet decided whether to sell the seized Bitcoin.

With the addition of the confiscated Bitcoin from Germany, as reported by the Bitcoin holdings data platform BitcoinTreasuries, Germany's Bitcoin holdings officially surpassed Ukraine's 46,351 BTC, ranking fourth behind the US, China, and the UK.

At the time of the German government's seizure, the Bitcoin's trading price was around $43,000. However, if calculated at $65,000, the German government once had an unrealized profit of approximately $1.1 billion.

German Government's Seizure of 50,000 BTC Ranks Fourth, Behind the US, Japan, and the UK