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Australia Technology Bitcoin

Australia to auction £8m of confiscated Bitcoins

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By John Glenday, Reporter

May 31, 2016 | 1 min read

Australia has announced that it will auction off 24,518 Bitcoins with an estimated market value of £8m in June following their seizure by law enforcement officials.

Confiscated from criminals as ‘proceeds of crime’ the haul is reported to have been obtained from a Victoria based drug dealer in 2013 and is only now being considered for sale as the market price for a Bitcoin hits £362, its highest level since August 2014.

Australian officials will also be mindful of a looming reduction in the number of new Bitcoins doled out as a reward for miners processing transactions on 14 July, when the reward will be halved, stoking uncertainty about future pricing.

Authorities are keen to maximise proceeds from the sale without destabilising the market and so will auction the sized coins in blocks in what is the first such sale to be conducted outside the US.

Perhaps more importantly the decision to sell also shows the government’s tacit acknowledgement that Bitcoin is legal tender in Australia.

Australia Technology Bitcoin

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