Police in Germany have seized 50,000 %Bitcoin ($BTC) worth $2.17 billion U.S. that had been stolen by a group of online hackers.
In a statement, the German authorities called the recovered Bitcoin the largest %Cryptocurrency seizure ever in Europe.
The Bitcoin had originally been stolen through a piracy website back in 2013. One of the two suspects that had been detained and questioned by German police voluntarily transferred the 50,000 Bitcoin to the country’s Federal Criminal Police Office.
While no official charges have been filed against the two men under investigation, German authorities said they are continuing to investigate the matter, as well as the use of the stolen Bitcoin in commercial money laundering.
In 2023, the U.S. government seized $216 million U.S. worth of Bitcoin that was linked to Silk Road, an online market that was taken down in 2013.
The U.S. government now holds nearly $9.5 billion U.S. of Bitcoin, most of which has come from criminal seizures in recent years, according to data from crypto tracker Arkham.
The price of Bitcoin has risen 90% in the last 12 months and currently trades at $43,300 U.S.