BitCoins worth $20m sold to mystery bidder by US Government
The US Marshals Service (USMS) has sold $20m in BitCoins to a mystery bidder after seizing the online currency during the closure of the Silk Road, the so-called eBay of illegal drugs last October.
The BitCoins, each currently worth $641, attracted 45 bidders, who paid a deposit of $200,000, while 63 bids were reportedly received by the USMS. The virtual coins were transferred to the mystery winner on 30 June, according to the Independent.
US investment giants Pantera Capital and SecondMarket confirmed they were outbid at the auction.
The coins were seized last year from 29-year-old computer programmer Ross Ulbricht, after the FBI arrested him over charges of narcotics trafficking.