Germany made a decision in 2024 that, looking back, seems like a very costly one: they sold almost all of the Bitcoin they had taken from criminals just months before prices went through the roof.

Blockchain data shows that the German government sold almost 50,000 BTC for about $2.89 billion, missing out on about $3.17 billion in potential profit. Those same coins would be worth almost $6 billion by August 2025.

In January 2024, Germany had the fourth most Bitcoin of any government in the world. The BTC in question, which was worth about $2.2 billion at the time, came from taking assets from Movie2K, a network that pirated movies.

The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) had sold 49,858 BTC for an average price of $57,900 each by July 12, 2024. Why? To avoid losses, German law says that assets that are likely to lose a lot of value must be sold.

The problem is... Bitcoin's value more than doubled in less than a year, reaching $122,000 on August 11, 2025. If Germany had kept the coins, it would have been one of the top four government Bitcoin holders again, and it would have been worth billions more.

Some lawmakers were not happy. On July 4, politician Joana Cotar said in public that Bitcoin should have been kept as a strategic reserve instead of being sold.

Meanwhile, the United States has taken a completely different path—holding nearly 198,000 BTC (worth over $24 billion) and even creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve with no plans to sell anytime soon.

Is Germany Still Interested in Crypto?

Despite the missed windfall, Germany is still pushing forward on the crypto front. After the approval of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, crypto assets are now fully legal in the country, with exchanges needing licenses from BaFin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority).

Crypto adoption in Germany is booming—users are expected to reach 27 million by 2025, with Gen Z and millennials making up half that number. Big players like Deutsche Bank are already preparing to launch digital asset custody services by 2026.

On the tax side, Germany offers a sweet deal for long-term holders: hold your crypto for more than one year, and your gains are tax-free. Short-term gains, however, can be taxed up to 45%.

The government is also working on DAC 8, a new policy requiring crypto service providers to report transaction details to tax authorities starting January 1, 2026, to improve transparency.

Bottom line: Germany may have missed out on billions by selling its Bitcoin too soon, but the country is still making big moves to position itself as a major player in the global crypto space.