An anonymous bidder purchased 2700 bitcoins worth about $2 million in an anonymous auction held by US Marshals Service on Monday. The Feds confirmed the sale to CoinDesk, a site that reports on the digital currency, and said that four bids were received in the auction.
Image: Getty
The US Marshals announced earlier this month its plans to auction off some of the assets seized through criminal, civil and administrative cases involving the dark web commerce market the Silk Road. The agency made 2719 bitcoins available for purchase during the auction.
If you’re wondering who won the bid, you’re not alone. Winners of these types of auctions only have to make themselves public if they choose. For example, New York-based bitcoin exchange itBit publicly confirmed it purchased one of the auction blocks in November when US Marshals sold other Silk Road assets. The winner of the most recent auction remains a mystery.
Three years ago, when the US government busted Silk Road, everyone’s favourite illegal drug website, it seized a massive bitcoin wallet worth about $US28 million ($36.7 million). The Feds have since been auctioning off those assets. In November, it held four separate auctions to rid themselves of the assets seized by the Silk Road. In the fourth auction, the agency sold 44,000 bitcoins worth about $US14.6 million ($19.1 million).
[Coindesk]