Photo credit: Bernd von Jutrczenka/die-tagespost.de

A member of Germany’s federal parliament is urging the government to stop its Bitcoin selling spree, suggesting adopting the asset as a strategic reserve currency instead.

“Instead of holding Bitcoin as a strategic reserve currency, as is already being debated in the United States, our government is selling on a large scale,” a rough translation of Bundestag member Joana Cotar’s July 4 X post reads.

The pro-Bitcoin politician said the move is not “sensible” and is “counterproductive,” and invited four other parliament members to a Bitcoin lecture with advocate and Jan3 CEO Samson Mow.

As of July 4, the German government has sold 7,583 Bitcoin — worth approximately $411,218,507 at current prices — since June 19, according to blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence.

Two of the government’s latest transactions involve the transfer of 1,300 BTC to exchange deposits at Kraken, Bitstamp, and Coinbase and 1,700 BTC to address 139Po. These funds are likely to move to a deposit for institutional or over-the-counter services, Arkham said.

More recently, the German authorities transferred 547.44 BTC to the market maker Flow Traders on July 5 at 2:35 p.m. GST, worth about $30.09 million. Currently, Arkham data shows the German Government address still has about 41,000 BTC, worth about $2.27 billion.

Bitcoin to diversify treasury investments

In a formal letter to other German politicians, Cotar urged the government to consider Bitcoin as a strategic asset to diversify state treasury investments. She suggests that instead of divesting, a comprehensive Bitcoin strategy should be developed. This might include maintaining Bitcoin as part of the state treasury, exploring avenues like issuing Bitcoin-denominated bonds or creating a regulatory framework that could facilitate such innovations.

She emphasized the potential of Bitcoin to mitigate risks associated with traditional asset classes, enhance Germany’s economic sovereignty, and protect against inflation.

Cotar further argued that embracing Bitcoin could spur innovation, attract top talent, and advance the technological landscape of Germany, thus contributing significantly to its financial and developmental goals.

The German government’s recent sell-off, combined with defunct exchange Mt. Gox’s repayment plan to creditors, has been credited to Bitcoin’s slump. At the time of writing, the leading crypto asset exchanges hand at $55,268, down 10% in the past week, per CoinGecko data.

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