German gov’t missed out on $2.3B profit after selling Bitcoin at $57K

The German government missed out on more than $2 billion worth of Bitcoin profit after selling its holdings in 2024, according to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham.A German Government (BKA) labeled cryptocurrency wallet sold 49,858 Bitcoin (BTC) worth over $2.89 billion at an average price of $57,900 across multiple transactions during June and July in 2024.The decision to sell the Bitcoin early cost the German government over $2.35 billion, according to crypto intelligence platform Arkham.Source: ArkhamIf they had held it, their BTC would now be worth $5.24B, Arkham said in a May 19 X post, noting that Bitcoin has risen more than 80% since the sale.At the time of publication, Bitcoin was trading at more than $104,700, according to CoinMarketCap data. Related: Justin Sun offers to buy German govts $2.3B Bitcoin stack to minimize market impactThe German government-labeled wallet first raised speculation of a potential sell-off on June 19, 2024, when it executed a 6,500 BTC transfer worth over $425 million.The wallet originally held around 50,000 BTC, believed to have been seized from the operators of Movie2k, a now-defunct pirated film site.Related: Bitcoin bottom signal? German govt runs out of BTC to sellGerman government rushed sale to maximize liquidityThe wallets selling patterns point to hasty transactions that werent optimized for the smallest market impact and best profitability, according to Miguel Morel, founder of Arkham Intelligence.The last thing I would have expected is that they would just go to five different exchanges and start market selling, Morel told Cointelegraph during an interview at EthCC 2024, adding:The fact that theyre going to so many different exchanges just reads like theyre just trying to get as much liquidity from each order book as possible[...]The reports surrounding the German governments Bitcoin liquidations may have contributed more to Bitcoins downtrend than the volume of sold Bitcoin.BTC/USDT, 1-month chart. Source: CoinMarketCapBitcoins price recovered above the $60,000 psychological mark on July 14, a day after the German government-labeled wallet ran out of BTC, putting an end to investor uncertainty about further selling pressure.loading="lazy">Magazine: Arthur Hayes $1M Bitcoin tip, altcoins powerful rally looms: Hodlers Digest, May 11 17