The German government has confirmed a multi-billion emergency sale of Bitcoin ( BTC ) that began in June. 

An official statement from the state of Sachsen acknowledged on July 17 the sale of approximately 49,858 Bitcoin between June 19 and July 12, 2024, in cooperation with the Federal Criminal Police Office.

Proceeds from the sale amounted to 2.6 billion euros (~$2.8 billion) and have been temporarily held by the Leipzig Regional Court as part of the ongoing criminal proceedings in the “Movie2k case,” notes the statement. The funds are not yet considered a final state asset and must wait until a court decides whether it can be permanently confiscated.

According to the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office, an emergency sale is legally required whenever there is a significant risk of value loss of 10% or more before the conclusion of ongoing criminal proceedings.

The asset sale pushed Bitcoin’s price downward during June. The cryptocurrency slumped by 9.8% in the month, falling from roughly $67,000 on June 1 to around $60,000 on June 30. The leading cryptocurrency continued to plunge in July, briefly falling below $55,000 before mounting a recovery.

Bitcoin sale nets German government $2.8B image 0 BTC 30-day price performance. Source: CoinMarketCap

“After extensive preparations, the urgent sales of the Bitcoin due to the emergency sale were conducted in numerous small tranches over a period of approximately three and a half weeks,” according to the translated statement.

Movie2k case

Movie2k was a platform known for streaming pirated content. German authorities  had investigated it  for severalyears.

The investigation looked at unauthorized commercial exploitation of copyrighted works for profit and subsequent money laundering. Since mid-2012, two operators allegedly have used earnings from advertising fees and subscription revenue to buy large amounts of Bitcoin.

In January, the individuals behind the platform transferred nearly 50,000 Bitcoin to German authorities. The coins had a total value of around 1.96 billion euros (~$2.1 billion) at the then-current rate of 39,400 euros per BTC.

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