German Authorities Seize 50K BTC from Piracy Websites

Approximately 50,000 Bitcoin, valued at around $2.17 billion, has been confiscated by authorities in the German state of Saxony as part of an investigation into copyright infringements. The Saxony police, in collaboration with tax authorities and prosecutors, managed to secure the Bitcoin that had allegedly been acquired by two German and Polish individuals. These individuals purportedly used the proceeds from pirated content sold on websites back in 2013 to purchase the Bitcoin. The accused voluntarily transferred the Bitcoin to official police wallets, although the future utilization of the cryptocurrency is yet to be determined.

It is unclear when exactly the individuals in question purchased the Bitcoin, but given the significant amount seized, it is speculated that it may have been acquired at a time when the cryptocurrency’s value was relatively low. Data from Glassnode as of October 31 revealed that authorities in the United States had seized a total of 210,429 BTC related to various criminal activities. In November 2023, Coinbase reported that German authorities had made 1,906 information requests to the crypto exchange between the fourth quarter of 2022 and the third quarter of 2023.

Binance, before reaching a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities, withdrew its application for a cryptocurrency custody license in Germany. This move suggests potential changes in the global market and regulatory landscape.