Saxony’s Bitcoin sale: Is there now a threat of a billion-dollar repayment?
- The movie2k complex is currently being negotiated before the Leipzig Regional Court as to whether Saxony can legally keep the 49,858 Bitcoins that have already been sold for around 2.64 billion euros.
- The crucial issue is the question of confiscation after the partial statute of limitations on central charges.
In the case of the illegal streaming portal movie2k, proceedings with great financial significance are beginning for the Free State of Saxony. The Leipzig Regional Court is not only concerned with criminal allegations against those suspected of being behind the crime. At the core is also the question of whether Saxony can keep the proceeds from the sale of 49,858 Bitcoin.
The Bitcoins seized in the movie2k process were considered the largest BTC seizure in Germany. They were sold as part of an emergency sale between June 19 and July 12, 2024 by the Saxon Central Office for the Safekeeping and Exploitation of Virtual Currencies at the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office together with the Frankfurt bank Scheich Securities Specialist AG and with the support of the BKA.
Can Saxony keep the money?
From Tuesday, the Economic Criminal Chamber of the Leipzig Regional Court, chaired by Judge Karsten Nickel, will be dealing with the future of the confiscated assets. About it reported DAY24. According to the report, Josef F. handed over a total of 49,858 Bitcoin to the Free State after his arrest.
Particularly tricky: Saxony sold the inventory in the summer of 2024. TAG24 describes the process like this:
“Since Saxony’s judiciary feared a loss in the value of the cryptocurrency, it silvered the Bitcoin treasure in the summer of 2024. In the 24-day transaction, the Free State received around 2.64 billion euros. The money has been in a Bundesbank custody account since then.”
Now it’s a question of who can legally dispose of this proceeds. According to the report, in its opening decision the chamber has already classified a large part of the original charges as time-barred. Specifically, this affects 219,928 cases of commercial copyright infringement, which are therefore no longer being litigated.
As things stand, what remains are allegations of commercial money laundering, serious tax evasion and incitement to false suspicion. This is exactly what the question of confiscation depends on. Because the criminal law basis has become narrower, but the money is still available.
A court spokesman formulated the legal question to TAG24 as follows:
“In the independent confiscation procedure, confiscation can also be carried out beyond the statute of limitations. The prerequisite is that the defendants are found guilty on the remaining counts.”
If the chamber does not confirm the confiscation in the desired form, Saxony’s access to the proceeds would be significantly weaker. However, if the court confirms the confiscation, the dispute is unlikely to be over: large film companies could then file claims for part of the money due to copyright infringement.
In Leipzig it is practically about two things at the same time: a criminal case against two defendants and an amount worth billions. The procedure is intended to clarify whether the Bitcoin proceeds that have already been realized can be used for the Saxon budget or whether a long dispute between the state and possible rights holders will follow.
Repayment in Bitcoin?
Remarkably, the profit for Saxony could have been significantly higher. At Bitcoin’s record high in October 2025, the price was 107,745.13 euros. This means that 49,858 BTC would have been mathematically worth around 5.37 billion euros; Saxony had previously sold the position for 2,639,683,413.92 euros, which corresponds to an average sales price of around 52,944 euros per BTC.
After the subsequent price increase, the sale was commented on with derision in parts of the Bitcoin community because Saxony had not taken advantage of the subsequent upside. The same inventory would currently be around 2.73 billion euros, which is only slightly higher than the sales proceeds at the time.
But one thing is already clear: If the court decides that the Free State is not entitled to the proceeds, Saxony would not have to buy back Bitcoin on the market; the dispute is about fiat money, not coins.
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