Why Can’t Germany Sell Its Seized Bitcoin At Auction?
The post Why Can’t Germany Sell Its Seized Bitcoin At Auction? appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Why isn’t Germany selling its seized bitcoin at auction but directly on exchanges? Bitcoin seizures by law enforcement are nothing new. But there has been a recent shift in how agencies liquidate their seized BTC—and it’s been wreaking havoc on markets. After moving $75 million worth of Bitcoin to exchanges yesterday, the German Bundeskriminalamt has transferred another $84 million worth of Bitcoin just this morning, according to blockchain analytics platform Arkham. At the time of writing, $30 million has already been forwarded on to trading firm Flow Traders. This selling of seized Bitcoin on exchanges—coupled with the impending release of Mt. Gox Bitcoin holdings—has reignited discussions about how governments handle large-scale cryptocurrency liquidations. It wasn’t always the case that government wallets would send large tranches of Bitcoin to exchanges. Arthur Cheong, Founder, CEO & CIO at DeFiance Capital, wondered aloud on Twitter why governments have shifted away from using public auctions. “Why do governments prefer market selling BTC either via OTC or directly on exchanges now vs auction where they used to do so in the past,” he wrote. “These BTC are likely to fetch a premium as well given provenance and clean background.” Matthew Kaye, Head of Operations and Strategy at Intuition Systems, told Decrypt that it appears governments may be prioritizing expediency over maximizing returns. “The U.S. deficit suggests that the government may not prioritize or have the expertise to execute the sale of their Bitcoin holdings in a manner that maximizes value,” he said. “It’s likely that selling this inventory is seen as a straightforward task to be completed, favoring the easiest and most expedient route rather than achieving the best possible price.” That may not be the only reason. In many cases, governments are finding that they’re sitting on big unrealized gains, said Ganesh Swami, CEO…
Filed under: News - @ July 6, 2024 10:14 am