TLDR
- Justin Sun offered to buy the German government’s remaining $2.3 billion in Bitcoin
- The German government has been selling its Bitcoin holdings, potentially impacting market prices
- The Bitcoin was originally seized from a pirate movie website operator
- Sun proposes buying the Bitcoin off-market to minimize market impact
- The German government still holds over 40,000 BTC worth about $2.31 billion
In a surprising move, Tron founder Justin Sun has offered to purchase the German government’s remaining Bitcoin holdings, valued at approximately $2.3 billion. This proposal comes as the cryptocurrency market faces downward pressure, partly due to the German government’s recent Bitcoin sales.
The German government acquired a substantial amount of Bitcoin through a seizure operation targeting the operators of Movie2k, a pirate movie website. In January 2024, authorities confiscated nearly 50,000 BTC, worth about $2.1 billion at the time. This seizure was described as the largest of its kind in German history.
I am willing to negotiate with the German government to purchase all BTC off-market in order to minimize the impact on the market.
— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨 (@justinsuntron) July 4, 2024
Since mid-June, the government-linked wallet has been steadily selling its Bitcoin holdings. These sales have coincided with a significant drop in Bitcoin’s price, which has fallen from around $70,000 in mid-June to below $57,000 in early July. This 19% decrease has raised concerns among investors and market analysts.
Justin Sun, known for his high-profile moves in the crypto space, announced his offer on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
He stated, “I am willing to negotiate with the German government to purchase all BTC off-market in order to minimize the impact on the market.” Sun’s proposal aims to prevent further market disruption that could result from continued on-market sales.
The German government’s Bitcoin selling strategy has involved transferring funds to various cryptocurrency exchanges.
According to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, the government-tagged wallet has sent substantial amounts to popular exchanges such as Coinbase, Kraken, and Bitstamp. On July 4 alone, $75 million worth of Bitcoin was transferred to these exchanges, suggesting an intention to sell.
Prior to Sun’s offer, the government had already sold a significant portion of its holdings. Arkham’s data shows that at least $300 million worth of Bitcoin has been sent to exchanges for sale. The remaining balance in the government’s wallet is estimated at 40,359 BTC, worth approximately $2.31 billion at current prices.
The impact of these sales on the broader crypto market has been noticeable.
Bitcoin’s price has experienced increased volatility, and the total cryptocurrency market capitalization has declined over the past few days. This has led to concerns about potential further price drops if large-scale selling continues.
Sun’s offer to purchase the remaining Bitcoin off-market could potentially alleviate some of this selling pressure. By conducting the transaction outside of public exchanges, it might help stabilize the market and prevent further price declines.
