Germany Was Mocked for Selling Bitcoin — It’s Starting to Look a Lot Less Embarrassing

TLDR

• Germany sold 49,858 BTC in 2024 at an average price of $57,900 per coin, raising around $2.89 billion
• Bitcoin is now trading near $62,000 — only about 7% above Germany’s average exit price
• A 6% drop in Bitcoin’s price would put the market below what Germany received, changing the narrative
• At Bitcoin’s 2025 peak, Germany’s sale looked like a massive mistake — that gap has now shrunk from over 100% to under 7%
• Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $4.33 billion in outflows over 13 consecutive days, adding to recent market pressure

Germany sold nearly 50,000 Bitcoin in mid-2024 and took heavy criticism for it. Now, with Bitcoin pulling back sharply, that decision is looking far less costly than it did just months ago.

How Germany Ended Up With 50,000 Bitcoin

Saxon authorities seized roughly 50,000 BTC in January 2024 from the operators of the piracy website Movie2K.

Under German law, seized assets must be liquidated promptly. The government sold the entire stash in just 23 days, between June 19 and July 12, 2024.

The coins were routed through major exchanges including Kraken, Bitstamp, Coinbase, Cumberland, and Flow Traders.

Germany received an average price of $57,900 per coin, bringing in approximately $2.89 billion in total.

At the time, many in the crypto community were critical. Bitcoin went on to more than double after the sale, and calculations based on a one-year retrospective showed the stash could have fetched over $6.6 billion.

The Gap Has Now Narrowed Sharply

Bitcoin recently fell below $60,000 on Binance and Coinbase for the first time since 2024.

On-chain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence has been tracking the situation. It notes that Bitcoin is now only about 7% above Germany’s average exit price.

A further 6% decline would put Bitcoin below the level Germany received — effectively erasing the narrative that the sale was a historic mistake.

At Bitcoin’s 2025 peak, Germany appeared to have left billions on the table. That gap has now closed from over 100% to under 7%.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs added to the pressure, recording $4.33 billion in outflows over a 13-day streak — one of the longest sustained outflow runs since these products launched.

Other Governments Took Different Approaches

Germany was not alone in its 2024 crypto decisions, but other governments went in the opposite direction.

El Salvador and Bhutan chose to accumulate Bitcoin that year rather than sell it. The US, under President Biden, began liquidating its own holdings.

Between the US, Germany, and Ukraine — which completed a full liquidation — state-owned Bitcoin reserves fell by 12% in 2024.

China and the UK neither bought nor sold any holdings that year.

The contrast in government strategies has become a talking point as Bitcoin’s price has pulled back from its highs.

Whether Germany’s decision ultimately proves wise or costly will depend on where Bitcoin trades from here. For now, the gap has narrowed considerably.

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