The German government undoubtedly left a sour taste on the crypto market following the sale of nearly 50,000 BTC, which it seized from the pirated movie website movie2k. This has led to further research into how much Bitcoin other governments hold, given the impact their sales could have on the market if they also decided to sell.
How Much Bitcoin Will Flood The Market If All Governments Sell
According to data from Bitcoin Treasuries, almost 517,414 BTC ($32.9 billion) will flood the market if all the nine governments currently holding the flagship crypto decide to offload all their BTC reserves. These governments include the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, El Salvador, Bhutan, Venezuela, Finland, and Georgia.
The United States government currently holds the most BTC among these governments, with a reserve of 213,246 BTC. These bitcoins form part of the seizures from the dark web marketplace Silk Road. The US government is known to have already offloaded some of its Bitcoin holdings, with its last sale coming on April 2 when the government sold 1,754 BTC.
China is second on the list, with a BTC reserve of 190,000 BTC. Like the US, China’s Bitcoin holdings are believed to have come about through seizures from the Plus Token scam, a Ponzi scheme that promised investors high yields. The United Kingdom holds 61,000 BTC, which were seized from an ex-takeaway worker who was found guilty of money laundering.
Ukraine is next on the list, with a reserve of 46,351 BTC. El Salvador follows Ukraine, as the government holds 5,800 BTC. The El Salvador government has become famous for its pro-BTC stance. It has been actively accumulating BTC since the country adopted the flagship crypto as a legal tender in September 2021.
Bhutan, Venezuela, Finland, and Georgia are behind El Salvador with BTC holdings of 621, 240, 90, and 66 BTC, respectively.
Fund Managers Hold More BTC
As expected, asset managers like BlackRock hold more BTC, given how they have been accumulating the flagship crypto through their respective Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). According to data from Bitcoin Treasuries, these fund managers hold a cumulative total of over 1 million BTC.
BlackRock is the largest BTC holder among these fund managers, with a reserve of 316,276 BTC for its IBIT Spot Bitcoin ETF. Grayscale is next on the list, with a reserve of 272,661 BTC for its GBTC Spot Bitcoin ETF. Fidelity, Ark Invest, and Bitwise complete the top 5 list with holdings of 176,995, 47,764, and 39,661 BTC, respectively.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $63,800, up over 1% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.