Monday saw a shakeup in the Bitcoin market when the German government began transferring over $900 million in Bitcoin, leading to a temporary price dip for the cryptocurrency. This massive movement of assets was documented by Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain data platform.
The German government made sizable transactions to several popular crypto exchanges, including Bitstamp, Kraken and Coinbase, as well as marketplace makers Flow Traders and Cumberland DRW. Shortly after the transactions, Bitcoin’s price took a 3% hit, dropping to as low as $55,000. Despite a quick rebound pushing the price to just above $56,000, it was still a net loss of 1.2% over 24 hours.
This sharp fluctuation follows on the heels of last week’s price drop to a six-month low. Market experts attribute these shifts to an increase in supply from governments like Germany and the U.S. selling off seized assets, coinciding with Mt. Gox, the collapsed crypto exchange, initiating repayments.
In light of these transfers, Germany has made significant headway in selling off their Bitcoin holdings. Starting with an initial holding of 50,000 BTC, their digital wallets now house only 23,788 BTC, worth an estimated $1.3 billion. This release of assets renders the German government more than halfway through its planned unloading of Bitcoin, as confirmed by Arkham’s data.