German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) Transfers $425 Million in Bitcoin
The German government has transferred $425 million in Bitcoin to another BTC address while sending a portion back to the deposit wallets of cryptocurrency exchange platforms.
German Deposits on Kraken and Bitstamp
Transactional data shows deposits of $32 million each on Kraken and Bitstamp, which could indicate an intention to sell. According to Arkham’s data, the wallet address previously identified as belonging to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) moved 6,500 BTC to the address “bc1q0unygz3ddt8x0v33s6ztxkrnw0s0tl7zk4yxwd” before returning to itself.
Arkham’s CEO, Miguel More, stated that the entity appeared to have moved $130 million in BTC to “service wallets,” which usually indicates an “intention to sell in the near future.”
Transfer Context and Implications
The BKA had seized nearly 50,000 BTC, worth over $2 billion at the time, from the operators of Movie2k.to, a film piracy site active in 2013. The BKA received the bitcoins in mid-January after a “voluntary transfer” by the suspects, according to Arkham.
The transfer of this significant amount of bitcoins by a government agency is noteworthy and raises speculation about the BKA’s future intentions. Depositing funds on exchange platforms like Kraken and Bitstamp could lead to an imminent sale, which could impact the crypto market.
