The German government offloaded its Bitcoin holdings in 2024, which became a costly mistake. The price of the benchmark crypto has now soared past the $106,000 mark, costing Europe’s largest economy an estimated $2.3 billion in missed profits. Germany Missed Out On $2.35 Billion The German gov’t sold 49,858 Bitcoins during the summer of 2024 as part of the plan to offload Bitcoin seized from the now-defunct film piracy website Movie2k. The average price of the sale was $57,900 per coin. According to data provided by Arkham Intelligence, Germany could have amassed far greater profits by holding onto its BTC stash a tad longer. Bitcoin’s price rebounded above the psychologically important $60,000 level on July 14, a day after the German government ran out of BTC, dispelling investor fears about additional selling pressure. The price of Bitcoin jumped over 80% since the sale, trading hands at $106,306 as of press time. Arkham noted that the decision to sell the BTC early cost the German government a potential $2.35 billion in missed profit. “If they had held it, their BTC would now be worth $5.24B. Opportunity cost: $2.35 Billion,” the blockchain intelligence firm wrote on X. US Government Misses Out On $20 Billion The German government isn’t the only one that has missed out on potential gains by selling Bitcoin too early. According to data from Case CSO Jameson Lopp’s U.S. government sales tracker, the United States government has offloaded different amounts of Bitcoin in 11 auctions over the last decade. The tracker reveals that the U.S. government has sold 195,091.75 BTC over the years, raking in a total of $366.5 million. But at current market prices, that hoard would have been worth over $20 billion — resulting in an opportunity cost of around $20.3 billion. However, President Trump adopted a different approach after taking office in January. In March, he signed an Executive Order authorizing the creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve with BTC owned by the federal government that was forfeited as part of criminal forfeiture proceedings. Moreover, the recently reintroduced Boosting Innovation, Technology, and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) Act of 2025 by Wyoming Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis would allow the US to potentially hold more than 1 million Bitcoin in its reserves if signed into law.
