The US Marshals Service is holding its first bitcoin auction in over a year.
The agency first held a series of auctions in 2014, selling Bitcoin forfeited by Ross Ulbricht in the United States clamp-down on the darkweb drug marketplace the Silk Road. In the last of these auctions, the agency sold 2,700 Bitcoin for $1.6mln (worth about $37.8mln today). Now, the Marshals Service will be auctioning 3,813 Bitcoin valued just around $53.3mln.
Overseen by the US Department of Justice, the auction is slated for January 22nd and will include Bitcoin assets seized in various federal court cases. As they have in the past, the Marshals Service will divide the contents of the auction into multiple bidding blocks:
“This sealed bid auction for approximately 3,813 bitcoin separated into three series: Series A (5 blocks of 500 bitcoins), Series B (5 blocks of 100 bitcoins) and Series C (1 Block of approximately 813 bitcoins). You will not have the opportunity to view other bids. You will not have the opportunity to change your bid once submitted.”
In order to participate, bidders must register with the United States Marshals service. This registration includes: completion of a bidder registration form, presentation of a government-issued ID, and a $200,000 refundable deposit. The auction will take place online between 9:30 am EST and 3:30 am EST on Monday, January 22nd.
Past auctions have attracted colorful investors from outside the cryptocurrency milieu, including venture capitalist and prolific bitcoin industry investor Tim Draper, who won an auction for roughly 30,000 Bitcoin back in July of 2014.
