Under German national law, seized assets must be sold if their market value fluctuates by more than 10% to mitigate risks from market volatility.
The country’s substantial Bitcoin stockpile was confiscated from Movie2k.to, a movie piracy website.
In January, German police seized $BTC from the piracy website, marking it as the “most extensive security of Bitcoins by law enforcement authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany to date,” according to a press release.
In mid-June, the German government started gradually liquidating over 10,000 BTC, putting downward pressure on the cryptocurrency’s market rate.
On July 12, German authorities executed multiple transactions, transferring a total of 3,200 Bitcoin across several platforms, including Bitstamp, Kraken, and Coinbase, with each platform receiving 400 BTC.
Additionally, 1,000 BTC and 500 BTC were sent to two unknown addresses.
Later in the day, Germany’s government offloaded the last of its Bitcoin holdings, which included 3,093 Bitcoin sent to a wallet address.
However, four months later, Bitcoin and other markets have surged following Donald Trump’s recent election win, which has bolstered optimism and driven asset prices to record highs.
Bitcoin’s rally coincides with speculation over favorable regulatory changes in the United States, further fueling investor enthusiasm.
Meanwhile, Joana Cotar, a German parliament member, raised concerns about the U.S. potentially adopting Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.
She warned that such a move could trigger a domino effect among European nations.
“If the US buys Bitcoin as a strategic reserve, then all European countries will get FOMO,” Cotar remarked.