German Lawmaker Invites Government Officials to Bitcoin Lecture Amidst Sale Plans

Joana Cotar, a member of the German Bundestag, which is the country's parliament, said in a post on Twitter last month that, rather than selling its bitcoin, the government should be holding the token as a "strategic reserve currency."

Germany’s police force, the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), has begun selling its bitcoin (BTC) holdings, according to a report by local news outlet Wirtschafts Woche on Monday.

The BKA has been slowly selling its BTC over the past few months, the report said, citing data from blockchain intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence. The tokens began moving as far back as 2013 when they were originally seized, according to the firm.

Today, the BKA holds roughly 32,488 bitcoins, down from 34,663 at the start of the year, the report said, citing data from Blockchair. At current prices, the government's holdings are worth roughly $1.9 billion.

The BKA did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CoinDesk.

Germany’s bitcoin holdings have been a subject of interest and curiosity within the crypto community for years. The country’s law enforcement agencies have seized a significant amount of cryptocurrency over the past decade, and some have questioned whether the government should be holding onto the assets.

In 2021, the German government announced plans to sell a portion of its bitcoin holdings to help fund its pandemic response efforts. However, the sales were reportedly delayed due to technical and legal issues.

Now, it appears that the BKA has finally begun selling its BTC, though the full details of the sales are still unclear.

Not everyone is happy with Germany's decision to sell its bitcoin holdings, though.

Joana Cotar, a member of the German Bundestag, which is the country's parliament, said in a post on X last month that, rather than selling its bitcoin, the government should be holding the token as a "strategic reserve currency."

Cotar said she has written to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Saxony Minister President Michael Kretschmer to tell them selling bitcoin "is not only not sensible, but counterproductive."

She said she's invited the German officials to a lecture with Samson Mow, a prominent bitcoin influencer, on Oct. 17 at the Paul-Lobe-Haus building in Berlin.

The above is the detailed content of German Lawmaker Invites Government Officials to Bitcoin Lecture Amidst Sale Plans. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!