Germany’s Bitcoin Sale Was the Worst Economic Error In Decades

Almost exactly one year later, this decision is looking extremely unfortunate. Germany sold this Bitcoin for $3.13 billion, but the assets price has gone off the charts since. Compared to last July, BTC actually doubled.

If the nation had 50,000 BTC to sell today, this would net over $6.64 billion. Instead, its wallet only holds 0.0069 BTC, which was accumulated from anonymous users donating minuscule quantities.

The sale looks like an even more unforced error because Germany today is not particularly anti-crypto. The nation currently issues more MiCA licenses than any other EU member, signifying an active local industry.

Nonetheless, the nation bungled a huge windfall. So, what lessons can the world learn from this？

BREAKING NEWS: The German government is selling another approximately 5,000 #Bitcoin worth around $300 million. I feel very sad for the German people. Among all the bad decisions being made for the country at the moment, this turns out to be the worst.

— sunnydecree (@sunnydecree) July 10, 2024

On the whole, 2024 was a bad year for governments divesting from crypto. Several nations, like El Salvador and Bhutan, deliberately accumulated Bitcoin, while Germany tried to get rid of it.

Under President Biden, the United States also began liquidating its holdings. Between these two nations and Ukraine, which also performed a complete liquidation, state-owned reserves dropped by 12%.

However, even Biden‘s partial liquidation proved influential, as it motivated President Trump’s push for a Bitcoin Reserve. The other two main national holders, China and the UK, did not acquire or dispose of any assets last year.

Although these nations dont have a formal reserve established, their custodied assets have nonetheless become substantially more valuable.

All that is to say, world governments should consider Germanys decision if they seize huge quantities of Bitcoin. Even if a political establishment is determined to liquidate, it may be prudent to postpone this as long as possible.

If the German government had followed the most common advice by every Bitcoin advocate, HODL, its economy could have netted billions and potentially more in the future.