According to Bitcoinist, the sell-off of Bitcoin confiscated from an illegal website has had an impact on the global cryptocurrency market.
In January 2024, the German state of Saxony police announced the confiscation of nearly 50,000 Bitcoins from the pirated movie website Movie2k.to, worth about 2.2 billion USD at the time. The Bitcoin confiscated from Movie2k.to was transferred to the digital wallet of the German Federal Criminal Police Agency (BKA).
By mid-June, German government agencies coordinated with each other to begin liquidating all of these Bitcoins. Participating agencies include the Saxony State Police Center, the Cryptocurrency Utilization and Depository Authority, the Dresden Prosecutor's Office and the German exchange Bankhaus Scheich.
In the following 4 weeks, from June 19 to July 12, 50,000 Bitcoins were sold. On the day the sale started, the Bitcoin price was around $65,000 but then dropped to a low of around $53,000 by the time the final coins were sold. However, Germany set the average selling price at about 57,900 USD and thus earned nearly 3 billion USD.
The prosecutor's office said that the emergency sale of assets is required by law and when the government determines that a decrease in value of 10% or more may occur.
The German government's simultaneous selling caused Bitcoin prices as well as the cryptocurrency market to plummet. But after only a short time, both markets recovered, increasing more than 20% since then.
Since the current Bitcoin price is around 65,400 USD, if not sold, the German Government's 50,000 Bitcoins would cost 3.27 billion USD.
This means that in less than a week, the German Government's 50,000 Bitcoins will be worth more than $270 million just by holding them. Due to the early sale, the German Government lost a large amount of money.
The Government's sale of Bitcoin has faced a lot of criticism from Germans. German Parliament Member Jaona Cotar is one of the harsh critics of this move.
According to coin68, governments around the world are estimated to still hold more than $15 billion in Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrencies, confiscated from criminal activities. Among them, the United States is the country most likely to sell, with the move of large amounts of Bitcoin and Ethereum in late June and early July.
In Vietnam, representatives of the State Bank have repeatedly broadcast the message: Bitcoin and other similar virtual currencies are not legal currencies and payment methods in Vietnam.
Issuing, providing, and using Bitcoin and other similar cryptocurrencies as a means of payment is an act inconsistent with current law.
