Cryptocurrency analysts have recorded $ 5 billion in bitcoins that could be lost to the German regulator

German authorities may have missed about 45,000 BTC associated with the Movie2K pirate movie website, which is equivalent to almost $ 5 billion at the current exchange rate. This was reported by the Arkham analytical platform, which has identified more than a hundred wallets associated with the project, whose coins have not been in circulation since 2019.

In January 2024, the German police had already seized almost 50,000 BTC in the Movie2K case. It was the largest crypto confiscation in the country’s history. However, in the summer of the same year, the prosecutor’s office sold them at an average price of $ 57,900, receiving $ 2.8 billion. Only a few months later, the value of bitcoin exceeded $ 90,000 and later reached over $ 100,000, which led to criticism of the authorities for «selling out prematurely.»

Arkham claims that the new wallet cluster of 45,060 BTC was not mentioned in the reports of German law enforcement and was not included in the 2024 sale. At the peak of August 2025, this amount was estimated at $ 5.6 billion, while the current value is about $ 4.99 billion.

In order to gain access to these assets, law enforcement officers need to prove in court that they are linked to Movie2K's illegal activities. Even after that, they will not be able to control the bitcoins until they establish who owns more than a hundred of the detected wallets.

Thus, Germany runs the risk of losing billions for the second time if it cannot legally confirm the origin of the cryptocurrencies and establish actual control over the funds found.