US plans to auction $1.6m worth of bitcoin from legal cases

The US government said on Monday it planned to auction more than 2,700 bitcoin forfeited during several cases, including the prosecution of the creator of the online black market known as Silk Road.

The US Marshals Service said that the online auction would be held on August 22nd, and that potential bidders must register by August 18th. The bitcoin are worth about $1.6 million, according to the Bitstamp exchange.

Silk Road

The auction is the latest by the Marshals Service of the digital currency. It completed four prior auctions from June 2014 to November 2015 of bitcoin seized during the prosecution of Ross Ulbricht, who authorities say ran Silk Road.

His case is one of nine criminal, civil or administrative matters from which the Marshals Service said the 2,719 bitcoin had been forfeited and are subject to the latest auction.

Mr 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. He is appealing.

The Marshals Service said bitcoin in the auction also came from the case of Carl Force, a former US Drug Enforcement Administration agent who was sentenced in October to 78 months in prison for stealing bitcoin during the Silk Road investigation. – (Reuters)