The wallet labeled “German Government (BKA)” on Arkham Intelligence has recently added 6,000 more Bitcoin, valued at $354 million, in preparation for another round of BTC sell-offs.
So far, 5,853.409 Bitcoin have been transferred to addresses associated with exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, Flow Traders, and other unidentified or unconfirmed addresses.
The next phase involves offloading approximately $342 million worth of BTC.
This follows the previous distribution of 3,100 BTC, valued at $178 million at the time, on July 9.
Additionally, the wallet withdrew 1,700 BTC, worth $91.78 million, from Bitstamp, suggesting difficulties in selling them on the exchange.
As of July 9, the wallet’s holdings were about 26,000 BTC, worth roughly $1.5 billion, with a linked address holding 4,800 BTC.
By July 10, the holdings had decreased to approximately 18,110 BTC, worth $1.06 billion, a drop of over $400 million.
Dr. Lennart Ante, CEO of Blockchain Research Lab, told Cointelegraph that investigators from the federal state of Saxony seized the BTC funds.
He explained, “The funds are said to have originated from the illegal streaming portal Movie2k, and one of the defendants facilitated the voluntary transfer of the funds.”
“The Public Prosecutor General’s Office has sole authority over the confiscated Bitcoins.
The BKA (German State Police) just provides the wallets through which the transactions are processed,” Ante added.
He further detailed that the proceeds go to the state budget of the Free State of Saxony, but filmmakers, as victims of Movie2k, could claim parts of it, pending court decisions.
READ MORE: German Government Continues Bitcoin Sell-Off, Shifts $178 Million in BTC in One Hour
Despite the sell-off and over $1 billion in BTC entering the market, Bitcoin’s price has rebounded to highs of $58,000 after dipping to $53,900.
Ante noted that the ongoing events raise questions about the efficiency of the Saxon government’s sales strategy, suggesting auctions or OTC deals might be more effective.
Out of nearly 50,000 BTC seized, only about 13,110 BTC, worth $770 million, remain, resulting in the German government losing its BTC billionaire status.
The BTC sell-off aligns with the Mt. Gox initiation of BTC and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) repayments to creditors.
Ante remarked that this event might soon be overshadowed by new developments like the Mt. Gox payouts, which could lead to a broader distribution of Bitcoin ownership, potentially benefiting Bitcoin in the medium term.
As of now, BTC’s price stands at $58,545, with the total cryptocurrency market capitalization at $2.15 trillion, up 1.39% in the last 24 hours.
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