They seized funds in BTC, ETH, LTC, Dash and more than 8 TB of data.
In 2024, Germany sold 50,000 bitcoin that protected.
Recently, the Frankfurt Attorney General’s Office, in collaboration with specialized authorities in computer crimes, confiscated around 34 million euros – more than USD 38 million – in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, together with the exchange exch server infrastructure in Germany. The platform was closed after the operation, which opens the debate: now that the German government has Bitcoin again in its possession, it is pertinent to ask if you will have learned from past experiences or will decide, once again, to liquidate its funds.
Thus, the authorities seized cryptoactives such as BTC, ETH, LTC and DASH, and more than 8 terabytes of data, arguing that Exch operated without complying with the protocols against money laundering Not with Kyc measures (Know Your Customer). Exchange worked since 2014 and, since then, They would have transferred through the platform near USD 1.9 billion in cryptocurrencies.
This operation occurs in a context where Bitcoin’s role in German economic policy is most likely being reassess. It should be noted that, in January, Parliament opened the debate on the possible creation of a strategic reserve in BTC, during a round table that also addressed tokenized government bonds. Among the participants were Christian Lindner, former Minister of Finance, who stated that both Germany and the European Union should consider this strategy to stay competitive globally.
If Bitcoin manages to win seats within the government, There will be no lack of those who question the decision to have sold 50,000 BTC Seized in 2024. On that occasion, the authorities of the federated state of Saxony, in Germany, justified the sale claiming fear of a possible accelerated depreciation of the confiscated cryptoactives.
The truth is that for some time some movements are being given in German politics that go in a positive direction. At the end of 2024, the Bitcoin Federal Associationan organization composed of 64 members that promotes financial education and the adoption of BTC. Its main objective is to defend the interests of the companies in the sector against the restrictive policies of both the German government and Brussels. The organization seeks to ensure that cryptocurrency companies have representation at negotiation tables Where new laws are discussed, which reinforces the idea that, within the country’s political scene, there is a sector that provides support for the creation of Satoshi Nakamoto.
At the time of writing this article, the portfolio of the Federal Office of the Criminal Police of Germany (BKA), an agency that participated in the seizure of the Exch assets and in the subsequent closure of the platform, records a balance of USD 721 in BTC, according to data of Arkham Intelligence. After the settlement of the 50,000 BTC in 2024, the balance had been reduced by just over one dollar, but later small donations began to be received that raised it above the USD 400. However, It is likely that for this new seizure a different address be used.
The seizure to Exch arrives at a time when the main world powers have adopted diametrically opposite strategies; That is, while China has chosen to liquidate its confiscated reserves, the United States has taken a more cautious position: accumulate BTC as treasury, aware of the role that cryptoactive can play in the geopolitics of the 21st century. This difference in approaches could mark who will lead the new global financial architecture.
Given the growing internal political support and the reassessment of Bitcoin in the United States, Germany does not directly copy the Trump administration approach, but to opt for an intermediate route: keep part of the confiscated assets while evaluating their strategic potentialall this without aligning completely either with the American model or with the Chinese. The final decision will depend on how the country manages to balance financial innovation with regulatory caution.
