German Authorities Conduct Emergency Sale of Nearly 50,000 Bitcoin Fetching $2.88 Billion

German law enforcement conducted an “emergency sale” of nearly 50,000 Bitcoin, fetching an impressive $2.88 billion (€2.639 billion) in total. The Bitcoin was seized in January from German and Polish nationals involved in illegal activities like piracy websites and money laundering. The sale was carefully coordinated between the Saxon Police, the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office, and Bankhaus Scheich. The sale lasted for three weeks, starting from June 19 to July 12.

The proceeds from the Bitcoin sale will not be considered as additional income for the Free State of Saxony but will be held in custody until the criminal proceedings against the accused are completed. The selling spree aimed to ensure a fair and gentle impact on the market. The sale saw the involvement of various entities, including centralized exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase, and over-the-counter firms like Flow Traders and Cumberland DRW.

Despite initial market volatility during the sales period, with Bitcoin prices dropping as low as $55,000, the cryptocurrency has seen a recovery and is currently trading higher than when the sale began. The urgency to conduct the sale was due to the law mandating an “emergency sale” if there is a risk of significant value loss, especially in volatile assets like Bitcoin. The controversial Tron founder, Justin Sun, even offered to purchase the remaining Bitcoin worth $2 billion that Germany had not yet sold.