In recent weeks, the German government has been actively selling off a significant amount of Bitcoin (BTC), leading to increased selling pressure on the cryptocurrency market. This move has caused Bitcoin to drop by over 20% in the past month.
The selling spree began when the German government decided to sell seized Bitcoin from a wallet operated by the country’s Federal Criminal Police Office, the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA). They sold 900 BTC in June, valued at approximately $52 million, which were part of a large haul seized from a movie piracy website. Subsequently, the government sold an additional 3,000 BTC worth around $172 million, followed by another sale of 2,739 BTC, equivalent to $155 million this week.
According to data from Arkham, the German government’s wallet sold over 5,000 BTC on Wednesday, leaving them with only 15,552 BTC worth around $892 million. This represents a sell-off of more than 80% of their total stash of 50,000 BTC seized.
Despite the significant selling pressure from the German authorities, Bitcoin has managed to maintain its price above the crucial support level of $50,000. This resilience has been supported by institutional asset managers, like BlackRock, who view the recent pullback in Bitcoin’s price as a buying opportunity. BlackRock, one of the largest ETF issuers, increased its BTC holdings by 2,095 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 312,565 BTC worth $18.08 billion.
The price of Bitcoin is currently trading at $57,430, showing a slight drop of 0.4% in the last 24 hours. Despite this, Bitcoin still records a price drop of over 22% from its all-time high of $73,700 reached in mid-March.
In conclusion, the German government’s decision to sell off a significant amount of Bitcoin has put pressure on the cryptocurrency market. However, the resilience of Bitcoin’s price and the support from institutional investors like BlackRock have helped stabilize the market. It will be interesting to see how the market continues to react to these developments in the coming days.