The German state of Saxony is swiftly depleting its bitcoin (BTC) reserves, having moved another tranche of its seized assets to cryptocurrency exchanges and brokers on Thursday.
Bitcoin wallets associated with German authorities transferred a total of 10,567 BTC, valued at over $600 million, in multiple transactions throughout the day to crypto exchanges such as Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Kraken, as well as to service providers like Flow Traders and Cumberland DRW, according to blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence.
Post today’s transactions, the wallets linked to the authorities held a mere 4,925 BTC, worth $285 million at current valuations, a significant reduction from the initial 50,000 BTC worth nearly $3 billion when they commenced liquidating the assets three weeks ago. At this pace, Germany’s bitcoin liquidation spree could conclude by Friday or early next week, considering the wallets have offloaded approximately 35,000 BTC so far this week.
Read more:Â German Federal Police Shifts $24 Million in Bitcoin to Kraken and Coinbase
The tally might alter in the subsequent hours due to the peculiar practice of the wallets receiving a portion of the transferred assets, sometimes amounting to $10 million, back from exchanges and brokers before the day’s end. Greg Cipolaro, head of research at digital asset manager NYDIG, described the on-chain activity as “perplexing” in a Wednesday note.
The imminent end of Germany’s $3 billion selling spree could ease the apprehensions of crypto investors, who have been closely monitoring the on-chain movements of significant potential sellers over the past few weeks, linking the recent decline in asset prices to concerns over supply overhang.
Bitcoin’s 15% correction over the past month coincided with the U.S. government, which holds over $12 billion in seized bitcoin, moving $240 million worth of Silk Road-related BTC to Coinbase, and the estate of the defunct Japanese exchange Mt. Gox beginning repayments of 140,000 BTC to creditors this month, who may opt to cash out after a decade of waiting.
NYDIG’s Cipolaro noted in a report that fears about the looming sell pressure might have been exaggerated, with bitcoin’s decline surpassing the anticipated price impact if all the potential selling materializes.