This is how much crypto the German government owns
Cryptocurrency is now a key part of the financial sector.
Cryptocurrency is now a key part of the financial sector. And so it is with the German federal government. Following a report, it’s now clear how much crypto the German government actually holds in its own custody.
The AfD, a right-wing populist party in Germany, filed parliamentary questions about crypto donations in support of Ukraine. The German government responded with answers in the the form of a report. What’s revealed? The German government has been accumulating Bitcoin since 2015. The remaining answers are described below.
The German government’s crypto portfolio
31.41954211 Bitcoins, with a value of nearly $650,000. That’s how much BTC the German government collected between 2015 and 2021. Acquisition and management happened via the exchange Bitcoin.de. The pace of purchases and which state authorities were involved isn’t known. The document also doesn’t explain the ultimate purpose of the crypto. Neither the Federal Ministry of Finance nor the Federal Ministry of the Interior want to disclose reasons for the investment. One thing is certain, though: “the crypto assets are not used for investment purposes,” says FDP member of parliament Frank Schäffler.
People can only speculate what they’re using [Bitcoin] for. It’s possible that the crypto assets were kept through multiple enforcement procedures. This explains why since 2015 not only nearly 39 Bitcoin were seized, but also, for example, the privacy coin Monero. All told, the seized crypto assets are worth 70 BTC – currently a little under €1.4 million. A relatively small amount. For comparison: in 2021 North Rhine-Westphalia alone auctioned off 215 seized Bitcoins (above market value).
International whales
In addition to its own investments, the federal government holds a variety of other crypto assets. These were “seized during criminal proceedings.” Not only Germany does this: the US and the Chinese government have also kept crypto assets tied to criminal incidents. In November, US authorities seized about 50,676 Bitcoin from Silk Road fraudster. China is meanwhile viewed as a Bitcoin whale and is said to own nearly 200,000 BTC. Germany, with only 38 seized coins, hardly comes close to the real “big players.”
Federal Intelligence Service (BND) refuses to testify
Also telling is the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) — the German intelligence agency — response to the request. Instead of a clear, tabular summary, the BND refuses to make a statement. That undermines the constitutional right of the German Bundestag to ask questions and obtain information from the federal government. The agency says it’s protecting state interests by not publicizing details about its concrete methodology and capabilities, which are highly sensitive. So it remains guesswork to what extent the BND has penetrated the crypto space and which specific methods were used.
Crypto donations to Ukraine?
The original question concerned Germany’s involvement in Ukraine’s crypto donation campaign. It’s true that Ukrainian President Zelenskiy has thanked Chancellor Scholz several times for his help. However, the support did not come in the form of cryptocurrencies, as the German government now confirms. Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine began, Germany has not participated in crypto donations to Ukraine at any point, the document states.
Still, Ukraine’s NGO donation pot was filled last year, even without German state help. In total, Ukraine has raised several millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies. Routes through various NFT collections have helped here as well.
