Bitcoin Crashes Below $57k as German Govt Sends $75M Worth of BTC to Exchanges

Bitcoin (BTC) fell further on Thursday after the German government continued to transfer its seized bitcoins to unknown wallets and exchanges. Analysis from PerkShield showed that the “German Government (KBA)” labeled wallet sent another 3,000 BTC to multiple addresses.

Among other addresses, the German government sent 1,300 BTC (worth $75 million) to three prominent exchanges. Crypto platforms Coinbase, Bitstamp, and Kraken received 400 BTC, 500 BTC, and 400 BTC, respectively. The Thursday transfer was the largest amount of Bitcoin sent to exchanges in a long time.

The German government also transferred 1,700 bitcoins to a wallet with the initials “139po.” This took the total amount of Bitcoin transferred out of the German government’s wallet on Thursday to 3,000 ($175 million).

The “German Government (KBA)” labeled wallet has now transferred more than 3,000 BTC ($175 million) to exchanges in the past two weeks. On Monday, the wallet tied to the German Federal Crime Police Office (KBA) sent $25 million worth of bitcoins to multiple exchanges.

Market Panics Further as Mt. Gox Awakens

Investors further sold their assets after wallets tied to the defunct crypto exchange Mt. Gox showed signs of activity after over a month. Analysis from Arkham showed that Mt. Gox conducted test transactions on Thursday, sending out $25 million to different addresses.

Mt. Gox announced it would start reimbursing creditors this month. The exchange would distribute up to $9 billion in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) to customers whose assets had been locked on its platform since 2014.

Bitcoin at Critical Level

Multiple analyses have shown that Bitcoin now rests at a critical level at the $58,000 region. Having formed a double top on the 4-hour timeframe, a break below the $56,400 support level will see Bitcoin test the $52,482 level and can go as low as mid-$40,000.

Bitcoin traded at $57,574 at press time, down 5% in the last 24 hours. The asset is now 22% away from its all-time high of $73,471, which it attained in March.