The U.S. government announced Monday its plan to auction 2,719.32669068 bitcoins worth a little over $1.6 million in one block. Bidder registration opens today and ends August 18. The US Marshals Service (USMS), which is conducting the auction, said the bitcoins were forfeited in various federal criminal, civil and administrative cases, totaling nine.
One of the cases is that of the creator of the online black market known as the Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, who authorities say ran Silk Road. Ulbricht, 32, was sentenced in May 2015 to life in prison after being convicted for orchestrating a scheme that enabled more than $200 million of anonymous online drug sales through Silk Road using bitcoin.
The U.S. Marshalls Service said the required deposit to participate in the auction is $100,000 USD, and interested parties must register with the USMS.
Required Registration Items are:
- A manually signed PDF copy of the Bidder Registration Form
- A copy of a Government-issued photo ID for the Bidder (or Control Person(s) of Bidder)
- Deposit in US Dollars sent by wire transfer originating from a bank located within the United States
- A copy of the wire transmittal receipt
The online auction period is Monday, August 22, 2016, from 8:00 AM EDT to 2:00 PM EDT, and only eligible bidders will be allowed to participate.
More information can be found here.