Bitcoin for 219 euros? Tax office receives criticism

The Dresden-Nord tax office received 219 euros for a physical Bitcoin coin in an auction. This auction caused some criticism.

When authorities in Germany seize items, it is not unusual for them to later be released for auction. There are numerous listings on the "Customs Auctions" page. Luxury watches, paintings, remote-controlled excavators and this case, a Bitcoin.

A physical Bitcoin

However, this was not a digital BTC but rather a physical replica of copper. The Dresden-Nord tax office released it for auction in early November. In the end, the coin changed hands for 219 euros.

The amount is surprising, since such replicas can be found on the Internet for as little as 1 euro. The auction caused outrage in some circles within the German crypto sector. It was "misleading", because unknowing bidders could assume that this was a "real" Bitcoin went. The Dresden-Nord tax office is so far unwilling to answer. It is also unclear how the tax office came into possession of the coins.

NRW does auction real Bitcoin

Still, sometimes it can be worth taking a look at the auction pages of such authorities. For example, real BTC has been offered in the past. This was the case in October 2021, when the NRW Ministry of Justice announced that it had auctioned off a total of 215 BTC previously seized from darknet marketplaces. The equivalent value at that time was about 11 million euros. One BTC went for 56,000 euros over the digital counter at the time. In the press release, the Justice Department stated that it still had 12 million euros worth of Bitcoin it wanted to auction.

However, some authorities in Germany are also investing in the cryptocurrency themselves. Between 2015 and 2021, the Federal Republic of Germany would have held just over 34 Bitcoin. At the time, FDP MP Frank Schäffler said it was only possible to speculate on what the BTC would be used for.