Police seize 50,000 Bitcoin from suspected piracy site that closed in 2013

POLICE in Germany have seized around $2.2 billion of Bitcoin following a money laundering investigation into a piracy website that shut down more than a decade ago.

Prosecutors said it was the country's largest ever cryptocurrency confiscation.

Two detained suspects, who police say ran the website in 2013, are understood to have complied with the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and transferred the Bitcoin to a wallet provided by German police.

"This is the most extensive seizure of Bitcoins by law enforcement authorities in the Federal Republic of Germany to date," officials in Dresden said.

They added the investigation had been supported by the FBI and a forensic IT company based in Munich.

In 2013, the price of Bitcoin rose steadily to $198 by November significant spike, ending the month at $946.92.