German Government Shifts $55M BTC Amid Market Downturn

• The German government has been moving Bitcoin around for some time.
• Bitcoin is undergoing a significant price decline.
• The downward market pressure is causing substantial outflows of funds.

The current instability in the crypto market has triggered a surge in transactions, as both whales and investors reshuffle assets to navigate the downward momentum. This activity has also revived long-dormant wallets and attracted attention from large-scale portfolio holders, many of whom have emerged with sell-offs and asset transfers.

Joining the trend is the German government, which has been actively moving substantial assets.

German Government Shuffles Bitcoin

A crypto wallet labeled “German Government (BKA)” has sparked a frenzy across the industry, with hundreds of Bitcoins being moved in various transactions across exchanges. On Tuesday June 25, on-chain intelligence provider Arkham Intelligence spotlighted the transfer of 400 BTC from the wallet, moved in a two-part transaction to crypto exchanges Coinbase and Kraken .

The transaction, worth approximately $24.4 million at current prices, occurred around 07:38 UTC. It was followed by another 500 BTC transfer, valued at $30.5 million, to an unnamed address. These Bitcoin transactions are not the only ones witnessed by the German government in recent weeks, as they follow a previous movement of $130 million worth of BTC six days prior.

An additional $65 million worth of BTC was moved on June 20, 2024, after which the wallet received approximately $20.1 million back from Kraken and a total of $5.5 million from crypto wallets linked to Coinbase, Robinhood, and Bitstamp.

Despite the weight of its recent transactions, the German government-linked Bitcoin wallet holds a total of 46,359 BTC in balance, worth approximately $2.8 billion at current prices. The frequent asset movements have raised questions of a looming government selloff, triggering fears of an even further decline in the already slipping BTC price.

Bitcoin Price Struggles 

For the past month, BTC has maintained a downward slope, crashing to new price lows. Despite peaking at a new all-time high of $73,787 earlier in March, Bitcoin has struggled to maintain upward momentum.

The crypto market giant also saw a decline below its $60k support level on Monday, June 24, 2024, when it fell to $59,812, before resurging to reclaim the value range.

The ongoing downturn has impacted exchange-traded products tied to BTC, with U.S.-based issuers facing a consecutive six-day string of losses totaling approximately $584 million. Similarly, Bitcoin has witnessed significant outflows in recent weeks, totaling approximately $1.2 billion over a two-week period.

At press time, Bitcoin is trading at $61,039. This marks a 17.2% decline from its all-time high and an 11.5% crash over the last 30 days.

On the Flipside

• It is unclear how the German government acquired its robust Bitcoin stash.
• In April 2024, top German bank Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) partnered with Bitpanda to offer crypto custody services.
• The United States holds one of the largest government-owned Bitcoin portfolios.

Why This Matters

The ongoing downturn in Bitcoin price has placed the industry on high alert, making significant transactions like those of the German government highly conspicuous. Should the government proceed with a sell-off, it could exert further downward pressure on the asset’s price.

Read this article to find out more about crypto in Germany:
German MP Backs Bitcoin Legal Tender Proposal

Discover more about the impact of Bitcoin’s underperformance on fund flows:
Bitcoin Bleed Extends with Second Consecutive $600M Exodus