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German Government Liquidates Bitcoin Seizures
Confiscated Assets by Countries Pose Disposal Risks
According to a report by Cointelegraph, the cryptocurrency wallet marked as “German Government (BKA)” by the blockchain intelligence company Arkham transferred Bitcoin for the first time on June 19. This move has led many to believe that the German government may be selling its seized Bitcoin.
It is understood that these Bitcoin came from a raid by the German police in January this year, where they seized a total of 50,000 Bitcoin from a pirate movie group. This is the largest amount of cryptocurrency assets confiscated in Germany to date. According to Arkham data, the German government cryptocurrency wallet holding these illicit proceeds transferred nearly 6,500 Bitcoin on June 19 for the first time.
On June 19, the German government-related wallets conducted four transactions, with one transaction worth over $425 million transferring 6,500 BTC to the wallet address “bc1q0unygz3ddt8x0v33s6ztxkrnw0s0tl7zk4yxwd”. Another transaction worth $154 million was transferred to the German government’s own address.
The wallet address that received the 6,500 Bitcoin then transferred 2,500 Bitcoin to another wallet address “bc1qq0l4jgg9rcm3puhhfwaz4c9t8hdee8hfz6738z”. Subsequently, the funds received by this wallet address were divided into four outgoing transactions. Two of the transactions flowed into the cryptocurrency exchanges Kraken and Bitstamp, while the other two transactions were transferred to unmarked private addresses.
The wallet marked by the German government currently holds 43,359 Bitcoin, worth $2.83 billion.
The quantity of Bitcoin seized by governments worldwide is a potential risk that cannot be ignored in the cryptocurrency market. In addition to the German government, the US government has also confiscated a large amount of Bitcoin from cases such as the Bitfinex hack and Silk Road. According to data from bitcointreasuries, the US government currently holds a total of approximately 207,000 Bitcoin, with a total value of around $13.5 billion.