Josh O"Sullivan14 hours agoGerman, US gov‘ts move $150M in cryptoThe German and U.S. governments make strategic moves with significant Bitcoin and Ethereum transfers, drawing market attention.4576 Total views6 Total sharesListen to article 0:00NewsOwn this piece of crypto historyCollect this article as NFTJoin us on social networksUpdate 1.25 pm UTC: This article has been updated to include comments from Vijay Pravin, CEO of bitsCrunch
The German and United States governments have drawn significant attention after transferring millions of dollars of crypto holdings.
The German government has made substantial Bitcoin (BTC) transfers, while the U.S. government has transferred Ether (ETH) from seized funds.
On July 1, the German government moved 1,500 BTC worth roughly $95 million to multiple crypto exchanges, while the U.S. government moved 3,375 ETH worth $11.75 million to an unknown address.
Related:US gov’t among states with largest Bitcoin holdings — ArkhamGerman government BTC transfers
According to data from the onchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence, the German government has transferred 2,700 BTC to multiple exchanges over the last two weeks.
The exchanges include Bitstamp, Coinbase and Kraken. The German government currently holds 44,692 BTC worth approximately $2.82 billion.
In its latest transfers, 400 of the 1,500 BTC transferred were sent to the aforementioned major crypto exchanges, while 750 BTC was transferred on June 26 — 250 of that to Bitstamp and Kraken.Arkham Intelligence data of German government crypto movements over the last four days. Source: Arkham Intelligence
Related:Is Germany selling its BTC? Arkham-tagged wallet sparks curiosityU.S. government ETH transfers
According to Arkham intelligence data, the U.S. government has made large transactions, specifically the address holding funds seized from Estonian crypto entrepreneurs Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turogin.
Previously moving 11.84 BTC worth around $743,000 on June 30 from another seized funds address, the U.S. government has since moved its entire $11.75 million in ETH holdings to a previously unassociated address.Arkham Intelligence data of U.S. government crypto movements over the last two years. Source: Arkham Intelligence
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These frequent recent transfers by both governments suggest strategic management of the held funds, with Germany potentially looking to liquidate its holdings on major exchanges.
The U.S. government’s movement of funds to an unknown wallet could suggest a general shift in ETH fund management.
Speaking with Cointelegraph, Vijay Pravin, CEO of bitsCrunch, explained that the price of BTC has “slumped by 6%” since the onset of government transactions. “I think it is the market waking up to potential downside risk. There’s caution in the air among investors that large-scale disposals by the German and U.S. governments could potentially trigger a more pronounced downturn in Bitcoin’s price. If that happens, we could see a higher selling pressure and increased volatility.”
The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) recently adopted by the European Union could influence Germany’s crypto transfers.
Set to affect stablecoins and crypto asset services alike, MiCA is expected to shake up the crypto market substantially.
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