Cryptocurrencies: This is how many bitcoins the federal authorities own

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Bitcoin ATM: Various federal agencies also own crypto assets

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Kin Cheung/ AP

“Are crypto assets currently owned by the federal government, and if so, how long will they be held?” A few weeks ago, the AfD parliamentary group addressed such questions to the federal government with a small inquiry and wanted to find out, among other things, whether the German government has been involved in crypto fundraising campaigns benefiting Ukraine since the start of Russia's war of aggression.

At the beginning of the war, Ukraine actively promoted transfers in the form of digital currencies.

In the first few weeks, they reached crypto assets from all over the world worth the equivalent of tens of millions of dollars at the time.

However, the federal government was not involved: according to the answers you have just published, it has neither supported Ukraine itself with cryptocurrencies nor called on anyone to send the country digital donations in the form of bitcoins, for example.

"On the other hand, the federal government is calling on the population to support the people in Ukraine with monetary donations or donations in kind such as warm clothing, blankets and sleeping bags," says their reaction.

Bitcoins from purchases and confiscations

More interesting are the government's responses to questions about their cryptocurrency ownership.

According to this, various federal agencies bought bitcoins between 2015 and 2021;

Bitcoin.de is mentioned as a platform used for this.

The purchased bitcoins, however, it is emphasized, are not used for investment purposes.

A total of 31.41954211 Bitcoins are currently owned by federal authorities.

According to the current exchange rate, this digital money would be worth around 600,000 euros.

The answers do not reveal the prices at which the bitcoins were purchased.

In addition to its purchases, the federal government also holds crypto assets that have been confiscated in criminal proceedings since 2015.

A table on this topic lists 38.66446619 (around 745,000 euros) that came together in this way.

According to the table, the federal government also holds assets in other digital currencies such as Monero, Zcash and Ethereum as a result of investigations.

The answer from the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) states that the secret service came to the conclusion that the question could not be answered for its area.

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