Germany forms the Bitcoin Federal Association in its parliament

Yesterday, Germany founded the Bitcoin Federal Association in the German Federal Parliament, the Bundestag. 

The news was first announced in an X post by Bundestag member and Bitcoin activist, Joana Cotar. The association will focus on lobbying, networking, and influencing national and international Bitcoin legislation. It also aims to positively shape the Bitcoin ecosystem in Germany and the EU.

In a reply to her post, the Bitcoin Federal Association (BTCBV) shared a press release document. The document stated that the association was officially founded with 50 members present, while another 22 participated remotely. The association creates an environment for business, research, development, and politicians to discuss and collaborate on issues related to Bitcoin.

The BTCBV elected Philipp J.A. Hartmannsgruber as chairman, Daniel Wingen as vice-chairman, and Matthias Steger as finance director.

“We have laid the foundation for Bitcoin companies to have a strong voice and representation – both in the German Bundestag and in the European Parliament, as well as with the EU Commission,” said Philipp Hartmannsgruber, BTCBV chairman.

The BTCBV founding members include people from Bitcoin companies, such as 21bitcoin, Blocksize, and Coinfinity.

The association also plans to join the German lobby register.

Germany sold all of its Bitcoin 

According to CoinGecko, governments around the world hold 2.2% of Bitcoin’s total supply. That is the equivalent of 471,380.6 BTC which is about $30.88 billion.

The United States takes the first place with 213,002 146 BTC holdings. China follows next with 190,000 BTC, then the United Kingdom with 61,000 BTC, El Salvador with 5,800 BTC, and Ukraine with 1,334.6 BTC. 

The German government used to have 46,359 BTC. That’s worth $3.05 billion today. The government confiscated those coins back in 2013. This happened during an operation against a piracy website that faced copyright act violations.As of today, the German government holds zero Bitcoin. This is because the government liquidated all of its holdings during 2024.