The United States government is hosting an auction between March 15 and 17. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a huge deal, but for crypto fans, things are about to heat up considering that amongst the items set to be auctioned off is just under one full bitcoin, which plenty of high-end investors are likely to want in their portfolios.
Another BTC Auction Is in the Playbook
The government hosting auctions is nothing new, and to an extent, it’s not like the U.S. has never sold off bitcoins before. The biggest case arguably took place many years ago when Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht was arrested and had his crypto stash confiscated. Many of these assets were sold off in several separate auctions and were purchased by the likes of top investors such as Tim Draper, who early last year stated that he’s abandoning the stock market and turning all his attention to bitcoin.
However, things are a little different now. Back then, bitcoin wasn’t selling for the $51,000+ price it’s enjoying in today’s times. With the price of bitcoin shooting through the roof every day, the world is seeing a lot more interest and bitcoin-related action, and this auction is likely to stir a lot more attention and turn a lot more heads.
Other items set to be auctioned off include various vehicles produced by Ford, Dodge and Chevy. The auction will also contain inoperable construction equipment (you’ve got to wonder who’d buy something that doesn’t work), along with a 12,000-gallon storage container. Clearly whoever owned this before had a lot of items they couldn’t carry…
At press time, the amount of bitcoin up for grabs in the auction is worth about $38,000. Naturally, this could go up or down within the next week, and the government is also not clarifying how it obtained this money in the first place. However, this isn’t likely to cause much concern amongst interested parties.
The auction is open to the public and the listed items are contained within lot 4KQSCI21105001.
This Has Happened Before
Events like these are popping up all over the world as of late. Last October, Romania hosted its first-ever cryptocurrency auction, selling off approximately 0.97 of ether and 0.7 worth of bitcoin, which at that time was worth only about $7,000 (whoever bought it is likely reaping some solid rewards right now). The money was taken from a fraudulent financial scam to occur within the nation’s borders.
In 2018, one of the biggest bitcoin auctions to be hosted by the United States Marshals Service occurred. Approximately $4.3 million-worth of the world’s number one digital currency was sold off after having been obtained through several federal cases that saw the forfeiture of various digital assets. As many as 660 separate bitcoin units were up for grabs at that time.