According to on-chain data tracked by Arkham Intelligence, the German government has significantly increased the amount of Bitcoin being transferred to exchanges and market makers, with over $900 million worth of Bitcoin being moved in just 8 hours on Monday.
Following Decrypt’s report of the government sending $28 million worth of Bitcoin to Coinbase and Bitstamp, Germany has conducted a series of transfers in the past few hours, with the funds being evenly distributed and an additional $28 million being sent to an unidentified address.
The latest transfers include $200 million worth of Bitcoin sent to Flow Traders, as well as further deposits to Coinbase, Bitstamp, and Kraken. Transferring funds to exchanges and market makers does not necessarily mean that they have been sold, but it does indicate a potential interest in liquidating these assets.
According to data from CoinGecko, the market has reacted swiftly to the latest batch of transfers, with Bitcoin’s price plunging nearly 3% to $55,300 in just the last hour. Earlier in the day, Bitcoin was trading above $57,000.
This latest move leaves Germany with only $1.34 billion worth of Bitcoin in its wallet, significantly lower than the recent peak of $3.5 billion a month ago. In recent weeks, Germany has conducted several smaller-scale transfers, but this is the largest series of transfers in a single day so far.
The Bitcoin held by Germany primarily comes from funds seized from the creator of a long-defunct movie piracy website called Movie2k.to. In January of this year, the government confiscated 50,000 Bitcoin from the owner.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with additional details after its initial publication.