According to ChainCatcher, the German government sold 49,858 bitcoins in batches through a wallet address marked as "German Government (BKA)" between June and July 2024, with an average selling price of approximately US$57,900, totaling approximately US$2.89 billion in cash.
The bitcoins were seized by the German Federal Criminal Police from the operators of the pirated movie website Movie2k. As of May 2025, the price of bitcoin has risen to more than $104,700. If the German government had held the bitcoin until now, its market value would have reached about $5.24 billion, missing out on potential gains of about $2.35 billion.
Arkham founder Miguel Morel said the German government's approach to the sale showed a rush to acquire liquidity and may not have achieved optimal market execution.
