Germany is selling a sizable amount of Bitcoin (BTC) that it confiscated as part of an investigation into an illegal movie streaming site.
Blockchain analytics firm Arkham says that over the past two days, the German government moved over $195 million worth of Bitcoin to six crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken and Bitstamp.
“German Government Still Selling BTC > $195 million so far. In the past two hours, the German government sent $65 million in BTC to two likely exchange deposits including Coinbase. The German government moved $600M BTC yesterday, sending $130 million BTC to four likely exchange deposits including Kraken and Bitstamp.”
Despite transferring a substantial amount of Bitcoin to crypto exchanges, Germany still holds over 47,179 BTC worth $3.06 billion.
Germany is selling the stash of Bitcoin that law enforcement authorities seized while probing Movie2k.to. The now-defunct illegal streaming site was accused of distributing more than 880,000 pirated films between 2008 and May 2013.
The Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office said that the two operators of the site purchased Bitcoin using the proceeds of their illicit activities.
The Bitcoin seizure in connection with the investigation is the largest of its kind in Germany to date. Police confiscated nearly 50,000 BTC worth $2.17 billion at the time. The seized assets are now valued at $3.25 billion.
Don't Miss a Beat – Subscribe to get email alerts delivered directly to your inboxGenerated Image: Midjourney