Business
Germany’s $2 Billion Bitcoin Holdings Spark Investor Concerns Amid Selloff
For weeks, Germany’s government has been offloading hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bitcoin, causing significant concern among cryptocurrency investors and contributing to a sharp selloff in the market. Last month, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) began selling bitcoin from a massive haul seized from a now-defunct movie piracy website.
In June, the BKA sold 900 bitcoins, worth approximately $52 million. Last week, an additional 3,000 bitcoins, valued at around $172 million, were sold. On Monday, German police sold a further 2,739 bitcoins, equating to $155 million worth of the cryptocurrency. These substantial sales have coincided with a dramatic drop in bitcoin’s price, which fell below $55,000 on Friday, its lowest level since February 2024. The entire crypto market saw a significant loss, shedding over $170 billion in combined market capitalization in a 24-hour period.
Germany’s bitcoin sales aren’t the only issue weighing on the cryptocurrency. The payout of billions of dollars worth of bitcoin from the collapsed bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox to creditors has also put pressure on the market. The trustee for the Mt. Gox bankruptcy estate, Nobuaki Kobayashi, confirmed that repayments in bitcoin and bitcoin cash have begun through several designated crypto exchanges.
Despite the large sums involved, these sales are relatively small compared to bitcoin’s overall token issuance. In January 2024, police in the eastern German state of Saxony seized close to 50,000 bitcoins, worth around $2.2 billion at the time. This was the most extensive seizure of bitcoins by law enforcement in Germany to date. The funds were confiscated from the operators of Movie2k.to and transferred to a crypto wallet owned by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office.
Today, the BKA holds approximately 32,488 bitcoins, valued at roughly $1.9 billion. However, not everyone agrees with the government’s decision to sell its bitcoin holdings. Joana Cotar, a member of the German Bundestag, argued that the government should hold bitcoin as a “strategic reserve currency” instead of selling it. Cotar has reached out to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Finance Minister Christian Lindner, and Saxony Minister President Michael Kretschmer, calling the decision to sell bitcoin “not sensible” and “counterproductive.” She has invited these officials to a lecture by prominent bitcoin influencer Samson Mow on October 17 in Berlin to discuss the matter further.
Business
Mistimonta Nigeria Enterprise Owner Sosinmi Olajide Eludes N4m Court-Ordered Refund
A Lagos businessman is facing an uphill battle to recover his money despite securing a legal victory against an elusive car dealer who has refused to honor a court order. The case, Mistimonta Nigeria Enterprise Owner Sosinmi Olajide Eludes N4m Court-Ordered Refund, highlights the challenges some judgment creditors face even after obtaining a favorable court ruling. Despite the court’s order directing a ₦4 million refund, the businessman says he has yet to recover his money, raising fresh concerns about the enforcement of civil judgments in Nigeria.
One month after the Lagos Small Claims Court ordered Soyombo Sosinmi Olajide, an Ogun-based vehicle dealer, to refund N4 million, the businessman, Oscar Josiah, reveals that he has yet to receive a single kobo.
The judgment, passed down on June 9, 2026, mandated Olajide; the owner of Mistimonta Nigeria Enterprise—to immediately return the N4 million balance, pay a 10% annual interest until the debt is fully settled, and cover N100,000 in legal costs.
However, enforcement has hit a brick wall. Josiah explained that because he does not know Olajide’s precise residential address or current business location in Iperu, Ogun State, court bailiffs have been unable to execute the judgment.
A Broken Trust
The transaction began under the guise of an established, multi-year business relationship. Josiah had successfully purchased a car through Olajide between 2020 and 2021 following a recommendation from a mutual friend.
The trouble started in late 2025 when Josiah sought another vehicle upgrade—a Nigerian-used 2011 Toyota Venza valued at N8 million. The deal was structured as a trade-in: Josiah’s current vehicle was valued at N4 million, leaving a cash balance of N4 million to be paid in installments.
Before the deal could be finalized, Olajide suddenly went unreachable. Josiah eventually tracked him down through family members, discovering that the car dealer had been detained over an unrelated dispute. Believing he was acting in good faith, Josiah even transferred N200,000 to help secure Olajide’s bail so they could finish the car transaction.
Between December 2025 and January 2026, Josiah transferred the remaining balance in chunks of N1.8 million, N500,000, and N1.5 million. But the Toyota Venza was never delivered, with Olajide repeatedly blaming the vehicle’s original owner for withholding it. When the deal officially collapsed, Olajide agreed to a refund deadline of February 15, 2026, but missed it entirely.

“Winning in Court Should Not Mean the End of Justice”
After months of broken promises, Josiah took the matter to the Lagos Small Claims Court. Olajide consistently failed to appear at the hearings, and a defense attorney who showed up once to request an adjournment for an out-of-court settlement never followed through.
Despite the legal victory, Josiah expressed profound frustration over the reality of trying to enforce the court’s decision while watching the dealer continue business as usual.
“I still see him regularly posting vehicles for sale to prospective buyers [on social media] while refusing to either deliver the vehicle I paid for or comply with the court’s judgment,” Josiah said, adding that he has spent an additional N500,000 strictly on legal fees. “Winning in court should not mean the end of justice if the successful party still cannot recover what the court has ordered.”
When contacted by investigative journalists from FIJ, Olajide briefly answered the phone, asking for time to call back.
“The case is with Small Claims Court. Can you give me some time? Let me call you back,” Olajide stated. As of publication, he has neither called back nor responded to follow-up messages.
For the full, detailed investigation on this case, read the original report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism: FIJ: Court Ordered Ogun Car Dealer Sosinmi Olajide to Refund Customer’s N4m. He’s Not Done So 1 Month Later
Business
Singapore Court Awards Damages to Ministers in Bloomberg Defamation Case
A Singapore court has ordered Bloomberg and one of its reporters to pay S$460,000 (US$356,000; £266,000) in damages to two government ministers after finding they were defamed by an article about high-value property transactions.
The lawsuit was brought by Coordinating Minister for National Security K. Shanmugam and Minister Tan See Leng over a 2024 Bloomberg article that referenced their property dealings while examining Singapore’s luxury real estate market.
In its ruling, the court found that the article, when read in its entirety, conveyed an implication of wrongdoing by the ministers because it linked their transactions with discussions of secrecy, shell companies and money laundering.
The article, titled Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy, explored how some wealthy buyers of Good Class Bungalows—Singapore’s most exclusive category of luxury homes—have concealed their identities through mechanisms such as shell companies and trusts.
As part of its reporting, Bloomberg noted that Shanmugam had sold a Good Class Bungalow for S$88 million (US$68 million; £51 million) to an unnamed buyer through a trust structure.
Bloomberg had argued that the article did not accuse either minister of wrongdoing and said their transactions were cited as examples within a broader examination of trends in Singapore’s luxury property market. The company has not publicly commented on the court’s decision.
The judgment orders Bloomberg and reporter Low De Wei to jointly pay S$460,000 in damages to the two ministers.
Business
Elon Musk Becomes World’s First Trillionaire as SpaceX Market Debut Lifts Fortune
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has become the first person in history to achieve a net worth of more than $1 trillion following the public market debut of SpaceX.
The milestone was reached after SpaceX shares began trading on the stock market in New York at approximately $150 per share. Investor demand quickly pushed the stock higher, with shares climbing to as much as $176 within the first two hours of trading.
Although the stock later retreated from its intraday high, it still finished the session strongly at $160.95 per share. The closing price represented an increase of about 19% above SpaceX’s own estimated debut valuation of $135 per share.
The surge in SpaceX’s market value significantly boosted Musk’s personal fortune, allowing him to cross the trillion-dollar threshold and secure his place as the world’s first trillionaire.
Musk is already one of the most recognizable figures in global business, known for leading SpaceX and electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla. Beyond his business ventures, he has attracted both admiration and criticism for his outspoken presence on social media and his comments on political issues in the United States and abroad.
The billionaire’s influence expanded further following his acquisition of the social media platform X, where he frequently shares views on politics, technology and current affairs.
Despite the strong opening performance, some analysts noted that the stock closed below the most optimistic forecasts. Several early estimates had suggested SpaceX shares could reach as high as $190 on their first day of trading.
According to Samuel Kerr, an analyst at Mergermarket, the initial trading performance was solid but not extraordinary. He said the more important measure of success will be how the stock performs over the coming weeks and months.
Kerr noted that while investors often focus on a company’s first day of trading, the longer-term stability of the share price will provide a clearer indication of market confidence in SpaceX’s future growth prospects.
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