Germany Sends Bitcoin to Various Exchanges
As disclosed by German regulators , 282.74 BTC, worth $17.6 million, have been transferred by the German authorities to the most popular crypto exchanges around, including the Coinbase, Bitstamp, and Kraken. The transactions, which were identified by the on-chain analytical firm, Arkham, have raised the issue of the probable sell-off of these assets to the market.
Background of the Bitcoin Transfers
The recent action is actually part of a series of Bitcoin transfers conducted by the German government after the seizure of a significant amount of bitcoins from Movie2k.to, a movie piracy website. German law enforcement agents managed to confiscate 50,000 BTC in the site early this year, which marked the most significant coin protection by the German police up until that moment.
Detailed Transactions
On July 2, about 8:20 in the morning (UTC), 100 BTC ($6.2 million) of the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) was broadcast to Coinbase, 150 BTC ($9.4 million) to Bitstamp, and 32.74 BTC ($2 million) to Kraken. In addition, 550 BTC ($34.3 million) was sent to the “139Po” label, an address that Arkham has not yet identified as “exchange” but suspects could be, based on analysis of the block chain.
Accumulation of Transfers
The sale of approximately $193 million worth of bitcoin has already been completed by the German government by transacting through the known exchange addresses. Moreover, the “139Po” address has received and used so far $251 million more. These statistics are in continuation of the earlier transfers into Bitstamp (i.e. 200 BTC), CoinBase (i.e. 100 BTC), and Kraken(e.g. 100 BTC) on July 1 besides 1,100 BTC to the “139Po” address.
Speculations and Market Impact
The transactions have reputed a possible sell-off. On the one hand, it was Flow Traders, that the German government sent 345.34 BTC to, which led to the speculation that they had sold the bitcoins through that company. However, exchange to the government On June 27 of 475 BTC recorded from the addresses associated with Kraken, Bitstamp, and Coinbase labels informs the matter.
Current Holdings and Market Position
Germany has currently the biggest stake in Bitcoin, alongside around 43,859 BTC, which is worth $2.7 billion in the market conditions. With a bank balance of $2.7 billion worth of bitcoins, Germany ranks as number four behind the United States, China, and the UK government-owned Bitcoin holdings.
Bitcoin Price Remains Flat
Even with the movement of such huge volumes, the cryptocurrency’s price remains relatively flat. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading near $62,739 retracing the last week’s peak below the psychological level of $60,000 and is now expected to head a bit higher than the last price which was at $71,000.
Seasonal Performance Expectations
QCP Capital market analysts reckon that the historic July gains for Bitcoin and Ether could be attributed solely to seasonal factors. “BTC has a median return of 9.6% in July, so it’s generally a strong month(‘s) BTC price. Moreover, the coin tends to recover dramatically after a very low June (-9.85%)”, they emphasized.
