As an experienced financial analyst, I believe that the recent transfer of 3,000 bitcoins ($172 million) by the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has significantly impacted the price of Bitcoin. The fact that around $75 million worth of Bitcoins were transferred to centralized exchanges (CEXs) such as Kraken, Bitstamp, and Coinbase, while the remaining $97 million went to an unknown Bitcoin wallet, is a matter of concern.


The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) transferred approximately $172 million in bitcoins, which is equivalent to 3,000 coins, on a Thursday transaction. Based on on-chain analysis, it was discovered that 1,300 bitcoins were forwarded to centralized exchanges Kraken, Bitstamp, and Coinbase. The remaining 1,700 bitcoins went to an unidentified Bitcoin wallet. This means that approximately $75 million was transferred to the centralized exchanges, while $97 million worth of bitcoins were sent to the unknown address.

PeckShieldAlert announced via a tweet that the Bitcoin address bc1qq0…738z, marked as potentially belonging to the German government, transferred approximately 1.3K $BTC, equivalent to around $75 million, to cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitstamp.

Previously, this wallet had offloaded approximately 3,000 bitcoins. Moreover, reports indicate that the same account was responsible for disposing of an additional 50,000 bitcoins amassed by the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) from a movie piracy site named Movie2K. The BKA plans to liquidate all its held assets.

As a researcher studying the cryptocurrency market, I’ve observed that when the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) moved significant bitcoin assets, the price of the digital currency dipped below $57,000. The BKA’s selling activity has influenced bitcoin since June, adding to the downward pressure on its price. This occurs due to the selling actions of “whale” wallets – those holding more than 1,000 bitcoins – who sell even a portion of their holdings. These sell-offs can trigger other investors to liquidate their positions as well, leading to further price drops for the asset.

Despite the German government being prominent in transferring substantial amounts of bitcoins, it’s important to note that the US government likewise moved sizeable sums on Thursday. These funds were obtained through seizures. The transaction by the US government totaled approximately $13.7 million. PeckShieldAlert reported on X: “#PeckShieldAlert237 A wallet linked to US Government law enforcement seizures transferred ~$13.7m worth of BTC to a new address bc1qvc…n257.”

The test transactions carried out by Mt. Gox’s wallet, transferring $25 among three wallets, significantly influenced Bitcoin’s price drop. At that time, these price levels had not been seen since two months prior when Bitcoin was on an upward trend.

Image by Jörn Heller from Pixabay

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2024-07-05 23:19