Former German Finance Minister Christian Lindner attacks the German government for selling bitcoins. But is he right?

Former German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has just criticized current Chancellor Olaf Scholz in parliament for not adopting bitcoin as a strategic reserve currency this year. In his opinion, having such a reserve would be beneficial for the country. But is he right? The matter is much more complex.

Germany made a mistake

Earlier this year, the German government confiscated approximately 50,000 bitcoins worth approximately $2.88 billion. The funds belonged to an illegal platform where pirated films could be purchased. Then the government sold all these bitcoins. At a terrible moment, I might add, because shortly afterwards the BTC price started to rise.

Look at the dates: The German government started selling its bitcoins in July. On July 25, 2024, he got rid of the last 3,846 bitcoins – they were transferred to the Coinbase and Kraken exchanges.

Assuming Berlin kept the BTC, he would now have a much greater fortune. The 50,000 bitcoins held by the government would be worth over $4.47 billion. Let me remind you: at the time of confiscation – USD 2.88 billion.

Now former German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has attacked the government for agreeing to the sale. But is he right? Legally, the matter is much more complicated.

Why did the Germans sell BTC?

The topic of BTC sales by the German authorities has already been discussed on Bitcoin.pl. But let me remind you what it could have been about. No, not necessarily about stupidity, short-sightedness or official malice.

The prosecutor’s office in Dresden, which was responsible for the sales process, ordered this summer. “emergency sale” of bitcoins. It was assumed that the cryptocurrency price would drop soon.

The sale of valuables prior to the conclusion of ongoing criminal proceedings is required by law whenever there is a risk of significant loss of value of approximately ten percent or more

– officials then explained.

These conditions are always met in the case of unstable (exchange rate) bitcoin

– they added.

The prosecutor’s office then explained that speculation by enforcement authorities on assets held was illegal. The office simply cannot farm the seized securities in the hope that their value will increase.

So, as you can see, the sale of BTC had legal justification. A separate issue is whether Berlin should create a strategic bitcoin reserve.

You can buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in a simple and safe way on the zondacrypto exchange.