German and US Governments Sell Bitcoin While El Salvador Holds Back

Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader crypto market is vulnerable to a more downtrend following recent developments involving i The US and German governments. On-chain data suggests that both governments are looking to release large amounts of their BTC holdings.

US Government Send $240 Million in Bitcoin to Coinbase Prime

An on-chain analysis platform Arkham Intelligence revealed on X (formerly Twitter) posted that i The US government had sent 3,940 BTC ($240 million) to Coinbase Prime. This has raised fears that the government may want to release these crypto tokens, which could put more selling pressure on the main crypto.

Arkham also revealed that this BTC formed part of a drug trafficker’s arrest Banmeet Singh following his trial earlier this year. Interestingly, Singh is known for selling drugs on the Silk Road marketplace, a dark web platform that the US government is known for taking large sums of Bitcoin from.

The US government, in the past, issued some of the Silk Road BTC, which also led to a significant pressure on the sale of the main crypto. Their last confirmed sale came in March when they issued 9,861 BTC ($216 million). They have not yet confirmed the sale of the 3,940 BTC submitted to Coinbase, indicating that it has not yet been sold.

Meanwhile, it is not only the US government that wants to dump the market. The data from Arkham Intelligence indicates that The German government recently transferred 125 BTC ($7.71 million) each to crypto exchange Kraken and Bitstamp. This follows their recent transfer of 400 BTC ($24 million) to Kraken and Coinbase. Meanwhile, the German government also moved 1,000 BTC to an unknown address (139Po), which may be another crypto exchange.

The possible sale of Bitcoin from the US government and the German government is very worrying, considering that Bitcoin is already facing a lot of selling pressure as it is. The Bitcoinist reported later that BTC miners sold 30,000 BTC (2 billion dollars) this month alone, which is a major contributor to the biggest drop in crypto since the beginning of the month.

Another Government Chooses to Hold

While the US and the Government continue to issue their Bitcoin currency, another government, El Salvador, instead chose to continue accumulating the leading crypto. El Salvador is known to be welcoming Bitcoin as legal tender from September 2021 and they start the ‘Bitcoin a day program’ in November 2022, where they buy 1 BTC every day.

The data from Arkham Intelligence indicates that they have adhered to this policy and currently hold 5,794 BTC ($351.82 million). El Salvador has also continued to accumulate foreign investment as well mining operations. The Bitcoinist reported later government plans to create a Bitcoin bank to attract foreign investors with frictionless Bitcoin investment.

The featured image was created with Dall.E, a chart from Tradingview.com