Germany Nears End of Bitcoin Sales, Holds Less Than 5K Tokens
The German state of Saxony is rapidly depleting its bitcoin reserves, having transferred another batch of confiscated assets to crypto exchanges and brokers. Authorities moved 10,567 BTC worth over $600 million to exchanges like Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Kraken, as well as to service providers such as Flow Traders and Cumberland DRW, according to Arkham Intelligence.
Currently, the wallets linked to these authorities hold only 4,925 BTC worth $285 million, down from 50,000 BTC worth nearly $3 billion three weeks ago. At the current pace, Germany's bitcoin sales might conclude by Friday or early next week, having already unloaded roughly 35,000 BTC this week.
However, the wallet occasionally receives parts of the transferred assets back, sometimes in the $10 million range, which could alter the tally. Greg Cipolaro of NYDIG called this activity "perplexing."
The nearing end of Germany's $3 billion bitcoin sales could ease crypto investors' fears, which have been linked to recent market downturns. Bitcoin's 15% drop over the past month coincided with the U.S. government's move of $240 million in seized bitcoin and Mt. Gox starting repayments of 140,000 BTC to creditors. NYDIG's Cipolaro suggested that fears of looming sell pressure might have been exaggerated, as bitcoin's decline surpassed the potential price impact.
