Key Points
- German authorities have sold 10,567 BTC worth $600 million, contributing to an 18% drop in Bitcoin’s price.
- Other entities including Mt. Gox and Genesis Trading are also selling off their Bitcoin holdings.
In a significant move, German authorities have sold off 10,567 units of Bitcoin (BTC), which is valued at $600 million. This action has played a substantial role in the 18% drop in Bitcoin’s price over the last month. This sell-off is also in conjunction with other significant sell-offs from Mt. Gox and Genesis Trading.
At 1:00 p.m. EST, Thursday, July 11, the wallets associated with the German authorities had a balance of 4,925 BTC, valued at $285 million. This is a drastic reduction of more than 90% from the initial 50,000 BTC, which was worth nearly $3 billion. This selling spree began three weeks ago and has resulted in an approximately 18% correction in Bitcoin’s price.
Bitcoin Transfers to Exchanges
On the same day, the German authorities’ Bitcoin wallets transferred 10,567 BTC, valued at over $600 million, to exchanges such as Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Kraken. Other service providers also received these transfers, according to blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence.
In June, it was reported that the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) had seized approximately 50,000 BTC from the operators of the popular piracy movie website Movie2k.to back in 2013. The BKA received the Bitcoin in mid-January following a “voluntary transfer” from the suspects. Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, had recently proposed to buy the country’s Bitcoin to minimize market damage.
Sell-off Concerns
Despite the fact that Germany seems to be nearing the end of its sell-off, other entities still have BTC to sell. Mt. Gox, one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges before its collapse in 2014, has started repaying its creditors after a decade-long process. This repayment involves more than 140,000 BTC, 143,000 Bitcoin Cash, and 69 billion Japanese yen, amounting to approximately $9 billion.
There were concerns among analysts that the unexpected increase in the supply of BTC in the market could create significant downward pressure on prices. They feared that many creditors would sell off their holdings to lock in profits. Genesis Trading has also been actively selling BTC over the last month, thereby increasing the selling pressure on the market.
The combined sell-offs from Mt. Gox and Genesis Trading, along with the German sell-off, have intensified the recent decline in Bitcoin’s price, which has already seen an 18% drop in the past month.
