skip to Main Content
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 97,991.25 0.96%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 3,414.70 3.14%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.04%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 256.54 0.33%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 660.54 5.68%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 1.48 0.14%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.432792 8.03%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.03%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 1.07 9.81%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 3,412.99 3.07%

German Government Agency Moves $425M Bitcoin, Some to Crypto Exchanges

  • A German government agency appears to have transferred $425 million in bitcoin to another wallet, returning some to the original wallet and sending a portion to crypto exchange deposit wallets.

  • Transactional data shows deposits worth $32 million each to Kraken and Bitstamp, which may indicate intentions to sell.

A German government agency today moved $425 million in bitcoin (BTC) to another wallet address, Arkham data appears to show, sending some on to crypto exchange deposit wallets and returning some to the starting point.

The wallet address, previously identified as belonging to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) by Arkham, moved 6,500 BTC to the address “bc1q0unygz3ddt8x0v33s6ztxkrnw0s0tl7zk4yxwd” and then back to itself. Transactional data shows that a tranche of $32 million worth of bitcoin was deposited on crypto exchange Kraken and a similar amount on Bitstamp.

German entity moved millions worth of bitcoin across wallets and crypto exchanges on Wednesday. (Arkham)
German entity moved millions worth of bitcoin across wallets and crypto exchanges on Wednesday. (Arkham)

Arkham CEO Miguel More told CoinDesk over Telegram that the entity appeared to have moved $130 million in BTC to “service wallets,” which generally indicates an “intention to sell in the near future.”

Mantle blockchain strategist @Defi_Maestro flagged the movements on X earlier.

BKA seized almost 50,000 BTC, worth over $2 billion at the time, from the operators of Movie2k.to, a film piracy website that was active in 2013. The BKA received the bitcoin in mid-January after a “voluntary transfer” from the suspects, according to Arkham.

Edited by Sheldon Reback.

Disclosure

Please note that our

privacy policy,

terms of use,

cookies,

and

do not sell my personal information

has been updated

.

CoinDesk is an

award-winning

media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a

strict set of editorial policies.

In November 2023

, CoinDesk was acquired

by the Bullish group, owner of

Bullish,

a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by

Block.one; both companies have

interests

in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin.

CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Shaurya Malwa

Shaurya is the Deputy Managing Editor for the Data & Tokens team, focusing on decentralized finance, markets, on-chain data, and governance across all major and minor blockchains.

Follow @shauryamalwa on Twitter

Loading data ...
Comparison
View chart compare
View table compare
Back To Top