By Susie Violet Ward · Forbes · 7 July 2024
The German government transferred about $75 million in bitcoin to exchanges including Coinbase, Kraken and Bitstamp, bringing its sales to more than $390 million in less than a month. The sales by the Federal Criminal Police Office still left 40,359 bitcoin in reserve, and the government later moved 1,915 bitcoin, worth $111.5 million, back, adding to questions about its intentions. The sales came as the US government sold confiscated bitcoin and Mt. Gox creditor repayments approached.
Joana Cotar, an independent member of the Bundestag, told Forbes she could only speculate about the reasons, pointing to budget shortfalls and the upcoming elections, and said she was not sure the government understood the consequences of its sales. She has written to the government calling for a strategy and says Germany should hold bitcoin as a strategic reserve currency, while Wall Street uses the sales to buy the dip.