According to TechFlow, the German government transferred more than 10,000 bitcoins to exchanges and market makers on Monday, and recovered nearly 3,000 BTC later that day. Germany received 2,898 bitcoins from Coinbase, Kraken and Bitstamp, equivalent to about $163 million.

These bitcoins may be returned due to failure to sell within the target price. The German government holds more than $2 billion worth of bitcoins.