German Government Officially Confirms Bitcoin Sales

The Dresden Prosecutor's Office has confirmed that a total of 49,858 Bitcoins were urgently sold between June 19 and July 12, 2024, as part of the Movie2k investigation.

The German government has confirmed the large-scale Bitcoin sales that began in June.

In an official statement from the Saxony state on July 17, it was revealed that approximately 49,858 Bitcoins were put up for emergency sale between June 19 and July 12, 2024, in collaboration with the Federal Criminal Police Office.

The statement noted that the proceeds from these sales amounted to 2.6 billion euros ($2.8 billion) and that the funds are temporarily held by the Leipzig Regional Court as part of the "Movie2k case." The funds have not yet been officially recognized as state property, and the court must decide whether they will be permanently confiscated.

According to the Dresden Prosecutor's Office, an emergency sale becomes legally necessary if there is a risk of a 10% or greater devaluation of Bitcoin during ongoing criminal investigations.

These asset sales impacted Bitcoin's price, causing a 9.8% decrease throughout June. Bitcoin fell from approximately $67,000 on June 1 to about $60,000 by June 30. The decline continued into July, with Bitcoin briefly dropping below $55,000 before recovering.

According to the statement, "Following extensive preparations, the emergency sale of Bitcoin was carried out in numerous small tranches over a period of approximately three and a half weeks."

Movie2k Case

Movie2k was a platform known for distributing pirated content for many years. The investigation examined the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works and subsequent money laundering activities. From mid-2012, it was alleged that two operators used their advertising revenue and subscription earnings to purchase large amounts of Bitcoin.

In January, those behind the platform transferred approximately 50,000 Bitcoins to German authorities. At that time, the total value of these funds was around 1.96 billion euros ($2.1 billion), based on a Bitcoin price of 39,400 euros.

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