US authorities to auction Bitcoin worth millions seized from Silk Road website
The US government will auction $18m (£11m) worth of the Bitcoins seized by the FBI last year when it closed down the Silk Road website.
Bitcoin: US authorities will auction the currency
Silk Road users used the currency to trade on the illegal marketplace to protect anonymity. The site, said to have had around 900,000 registered users, was an online hub for buying drugs, weapons and other illegal materials.
The FBI shut the site down in October last year and arrested owner Ross William Ulbricht, 29.
The 29,656.51306529 Bitcoins being auctioned do not include those on Ulbricht’s personal computers. It’s thought his collection may be worth more than $84m, and he is fighting allegations that he earned the money illegally.
Authorities in the US said they would “not sell to any person who is acting on behalf of or in concert with the Silk Road and/or Ross William Ulbricht, and bidders will be required to so certify”.
The auction process will begin on 27 June.