The country’s law enforcement agency The United States Marshals Services will host a Bitcoin auction on 18th February 2020 and put up around thirty-seven million US dollars ($37 million) worth of confiscated Bitcoin up for sale, an official press release confirmed on Monday.
For many, it may seem like an out of the box idea however it is worth noting that the United States isn’t the first country to have thought of putting up seized Bitcoin up for auction. In 2018, the Finnish government announced a set of regulations for seized crypto that required them to be sold at public auctions. Last year, the UK police held an auction for confiscated Bitcoin earnings worth six hundred thousand US dollars ($600,000).
In fact, the US authorities have decided to conduct this event after a much-successful run at the Bitcoin auction in 2018, which raised over fifty million US dollars ($50 million) through the sale of six hundred and sixty Bitcoin. It began executing this unique idea of liquidating illegally owned crypto earnings back in 2014 when it seized over thousands of Bitcoin during the notorious Silk Road investigation.
Another Bitcoin auction hits the market
Hoping for another such successful stint, the authorities in the United States are preparing to auction off four thousand forty Bitcoin, which are worth more than thirty-seven million dollars. The Bitcoin were transferred to the Marshals services by several law agencies who confiscated these illicitly earned assets over the years.
Reportedly, the Bitcoin auction will be a six hours long event involving bidders who have already been pre-approved after going through an online registration process. Interested parties can register themselves with the law-enforcement website, pay two hundred thousand US dollars ($200,000) as a security deposit, and wait for the approval. In case the approval request is denied, the entire security deposit will be refunded.
The available Bitcoin will be auctioned in four slots starting with two thousand five hundred, followed by one thousand, five hundred, and lastly, around forty Bitcoin. If an individual wishes to bid on multiple slots at different prices, he or she will be required to complete a new registration process and deposit additional funds.
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