By mid-June 2024, analysts, investors, and two-dimensional blockchain sleuths have taken to tracking the cryptocurrency transfers of highly uncommon Bitcoin (BTC) whales: The government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Indeed, the Central European country has been moving vast quantities of BTC to numerous exchanges, including Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), Kraken, and Bitstamp. In the last two days, the German government deposited 1,700 Bitcoins ($108 million) and holds a total of over 47,000 ($3 billion).
Where did Germany get the Bitcoin?
Though there have been many theories as to the origins of Germany’s BTC – including the alleged but mostly unconfirmed reports that governments worldwide have been buying the cryptocurrency in secret for years – the assets can be tracked to a seizure conducted by the nation’s law enforcement.
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Indeed, in January 2024, it was reported that the Saxon State Criminal Police Office took possession of the Bitcoins from two individuals suspected of operating a piracy website until the end of 2013. At the time, it was alleged that the BTC was purchased using the illegal profits from the operation.
Will the German authorities crash the price of Bitcoin?
The German government’s activities came at a relatively sensitive moment as their deposits coincided with a significant, multi-day drop in the price of Bitcoin, which saw the cryptocurrency fall nearly 10% in the last 30 days of trading.
Nonetheless, it is relatively unlikely that Germany will significantly contribute to a price drop despite holding nearly 50,000 BTC.
Approximately a year earlier, certain observers and members of the crypto community were fearful as the U.S. government was moving a similar amount of Bitcoin seized from the dark web platform Silk Road.
The offloading of the assets had no major impact on the crypto markets and, indeed, had no impact on the massive BTC rally that started late in 2023 that saw it climb from about $27,000 to $63,682 – the Bitcoin price today.
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