Wallet activity: Is the federal government selling BTC for USD 900 million?
13,500 BTC flow from BKA address!
BTC worth almost 900 million US dollars was transferred today from a Bitcoin address identified by on-chain analysis company Arkham as "German Government (BKA)". This has triggered speculation about a possible sale of Bitcoin by the German government.
Background to the Bitcoin confiscation
The BTC in question originate from the seizure as part of the proceedings against the illegal piracy platform Movie2k. The portal was a successor to the relatively well-known and notorious site "kino.to" and was considered one of the most important illegal German-language film exchanges. The defendants are said to have distributed over 880,000 pirated copies and operated an illegal streaming service. The two founders invested the proceeds from the business in Bitcoin. Both, a 40-year-old real estate agent from Berlin and a 37-year-old Polish programmer, were arrested in 2019. The 50,000 Bitcoin seized by the LKA Saxony, worth around five million euros at the time, have since risen to over three billion euros - Blocktrainer.de reported. This sum has been in a wallet of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) since the beginning of this year.
13,500 BTC for sale?
Today, June 19, 2024, around 13,500 BTC were transferred to various addresses, including well-known crypto exchanges such as Kraken and Bitstamp. These movements have accordingly attracted the attention of the Bitcoin community and triggered speculation about a possible imminent sale. However, some of the addresses are labeled by Arkham as internal transfers and the majority of the BTC was probably only moved internally. In each case, 500 BTC flowed to the two exchanges mentioned and a further 1000 BTC to as yet unknown addresses.
It therefore seems rather unlikely that the entire sum of around USD 900 million will actually be sold.
Who receives the proceeds?
It is suspected that the Bitcoin could flow into the Saxon state coffers or the federal budget. However, according to reports, there are considerations as to whether a portion could be used for compensation or even count as legal income for the former platform operators. The public prosecutor's office is still unsure how much of the funds come from illegal activities and whether the defendants may be allowed to keep some of the Bitcoin.
Official statement pending
So far there has been no official statement from the German government or the BKA on the transfers. The lack of communication naturally leaves room for various interpretations. It remains to be seen if and when an official statement will follow and what further steps will be taken. If only the 1000 BTC that flowed to Kraken and Bitstamp are actually sold, the impact on the markets should also be limited and not lead to any major price movements.
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