Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron blockchain, made fun of Germany and its massive BTC sell-off. Justin suggested that Germany lost in the UEFA Euro 2024 Cup quarter-finals because she ‘sold too much Bitcoin.’ Other X users and BTC enthusiasts added to the tweet, with some X users suggesting that Germany should have HODLed.
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Germany started shorting Bitcoin gathered from illegal activities at the end of June, following Mt. Gox’s plans to begin repaying its creditors. Mt. Gox, a former Japanese crypto exchange, went bankrupt in 2014 after suffering a series of heists. The exchange lost approximately 950,000 BTC. Mt. Gox recently began making payments to its 20,000+ creditors in BTC and BCH.
The 5,000 BTC Germany transferred since the sell-off began are approximately $258 million at current BTC prices. The main accounts Germany moved its BTC to include Bitstamp, Coinbase, and Kraken. Data from Arkham Intelligence shows that Germany has 39,826 BTC left, valued at $2.31 billion.
The crypto markets seemed to recover on July 6 despite the market uncertainty experienced over the past few weeks. Bitcoin’s price increased by approximately 2.35%, retesting the $57,000 level. The crypto market also showed a general upward trend, with the global market cap increasing by over 2% in the past 24 hours.
Joana Cotar disapproves of Germany’s BTC sale
German politician Joana Cotar posted her thoughts on Germany’s decision to short its BTC on X. In her tweet, Joana mentioned her concerns about the country selling off its Bitcoin instead of holding it as a strategic reserve currency.
Statt #Bitcoin als strategische Reservewährung zu halten, wie es in den USA bereits debattiert wird, verkauft unsere Regierung im großen Stil. Ich habe @MPKretschmer, @c_lindner & @Bundeskanzler @OlafScholz darüber informiert, warum dies nicht nur nicht sinnvoll, sondern… pic.twitter.com/v9FpzmfLbp
— Joana Cotar (@JoanaCotar) July 4, 2024
Joana also discussed how countries like the US are exploring the adoption of BTC. Cotar expressed her disappointment with the lack of action by prominent political figures despite her discussing the disadvantages of the current move with them.
“I informed @MPKretschmer , @c_lindner & @Bundeskanzler @OlafScholz why this is not only not sensible, but counterproductive and invited them to our lecture event with Samson Mow…”
Joana encouraged the politicians to attend her lecture, ‘ Bitcoin Strategies for Nation-States, ‘ featuring Samson Mow, a known Bitcoin enthusiast. The lecture, which will be held on October 17, will explain how Bitcoin can help states diversify wealth, combat inflation and economic crises, integrate underserved communities, and more.
El Salvador holds BTC despite selling pressure
While Germany continues to get rid of its BTC, El Salvador maintains its mission to buy 1 BTC a day. On March 16, El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele posted on X that his mission to buy 1 BTC daily would continue until the asset was ‘unaffordable with fiat.’
This continues until #Bitcoin becomes unaffordable with fiat currencies. https://t.co/nzeynjXcFk
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 16, 2024
The initiative started in 2022 and was part of its mission after adopting BTC as a legal tender. Now, the country has over 5,700 BTC, which is held in a cold wallet to ensure the funds’ safety. At current BTC prices, El Salvador’s BTC reserves have a value of over $324 million.
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President Nayib Bukele introduced the idea of a Bitcoin bank in El Salvador to improve the BTC-USD exchange. Nayib expects this bank to improve the country’s GDP and credit ratings as more investors flood El Slavador’s markets with BTC.
Cryptopolitan reporting by Collins J. Okoth
