German Bundestag member Joanna Cotard has strongly criticized the government’s decision to “hasty” sell off its Bitcoin holdings and called for a comprehensive Bitcoin strategy to be developed.
“Instead of holding Bitcoin as a strategic reserve currency, as is already being discussed in the United States, our government is selling it off en masse,” the independent lawmaker and Bitcoin advocate wrote Thursday, according to a translation of the X post.
Cotar called this “unreasonable” and “counterproductive” and called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Chancellor Michael Kretschmer and Finance Minister Christian Lindner to “Bitcoin Bitcoin
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The “Strategy for the Nation” event, hosted by Bitcoin company CEO Samson Mow, took place on January 3rd.
Kottar also attached a letter she sent to Chancellor Kretschmer on Thursday in which she “urgently” asked the German government “not to prematurely sell off state-owned Bitcoin.”
Cotard argued that Bitcoin offers an opportunity to diversify national assets and reduce the risks associated with traditional investments. She also suggested that Bitcoin’s scarcity and deflationary nature could serve as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.
The lawmaker argued that a clear legal framework for Bitcoin serves Germany’s interests and economic sovereignty, and thus contributes to the country’s technological and financial development.
“Instead of selling, we would be better off developing a comprehensive Bitcoin strategy,” Kottar concluded. “This could include keeping Bitcoin in state treasuries, issuing Bitcoin bonds, and creating a favorable regulatory environment.”
Bitcoin transfers in Germany
According to Arkham data, ahead of Kothar’s comments, the German government transferred an additional 3,000 BTC ($175 million) to various addresses on Thursday morning.
The transfers included 500 BTC ($29 million) to Bitstamp, 400 BTC ($23 million) to Coinbase, and 400 BTC ($23 million) to Kraken.
They also sent 1,700 BTC ($99 million) to the address “139Po.” Arkham has not yet confirmed the address, but it may belong to an exchange.
The address listed by the German government began sending Bitcoin to cryptocurrency exchanges last month after 50,000 BTC was seized from movie piracy site Movie2k in January.
Overall, approximately $269 million worth of the seized bitcoin was sent to addresses listed as cryptocurrency exchanges, with an additional $350 million sent to the “139Po” address. However, Arkham data shows that at least $86 million was also withdrawn from known exchanges during the same period.
According to The Block’s Bitcoin price page, Bitcoin is currently trading at $54,074. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap is down 6% in the past 24 hours amid Mt. Gox Bitcoin moves, and has fallen about 17% since the German government began moving funds to exchanges on June 18.
BTC/USD price chart. Image: The Block/TradingView.
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