Movie2k.to was one of the largest illegal streaming platforms in Germany. Hundreds of thousands of pirated copies of films and series were available there. This is now costing the operators dearly.
Since the platform was shut down in 2013, investigations have been ongoing against the operators. The two alleged perpetrators are said to have made a fortune with their illegal offer through advertising revenue and subscription fees. As befits internet crooks, these are of course not ordinary funds, but cryptocurrencies.
A total of 50,000 Bitcoins have now been seized as part of the investigation and transferred to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). With a rate of around 40,000 euros per Bitcoin, this corresponds to a current equivalent value of almost two billion euros. This makes it the most valuable seizure of cryptocurrencies in Germany to date. It is still unclear how the confiscated Bitcoins will be used.
It is also not the first Bitcoin handover in this case. As early as 2020, the website’s programmer, who was arrested in 2019, handed over Bitcoins worth around 25 million euros at the time. The man originally owned over 200 million euros in Bitcoins. However, in the years before his arrest, he invested most of his money in real estate.
Movie2k.to is probably familiar to many Internet users at the time. At times the platform was even one of the 20 most popular websites in Germany. Between 2008 and 2013, more than 880,000 films and series are said to have been uploaded there.
There are now a whole range of legal alternatives. You can find out in this article which new films and series await you on Netflix, Disney+ & Co. in February.
Source: Saxony Police