Tim Draper wins part of 2nd Bitcoin auction
The second U.S. Marshals Service’s Bitcoin auction was held last on Thursday. The agency auctioned off 50,000 Bitcoins, valued at $18.6 million, seized from Silk Road, a black market that was taken down last year by the FBI for facilitating the sale of drugs, illegal firearms, and child pornography.
Marshals Service spokeswoman Lynzey Donahue revealed there were 11 registered bidders and 27 resulting bids. The winning bidder/s were notified on Friday, December 5.
The auction sold off part of the 173,991 Bitcoins recovered by authorities when the Silk Road’s operations ceased. It includes the 144,336 Bitcoins found on Ross Ulbricht’s, the alleged creator of Silk Road, computer hardware.
Earlier this year, the Marshals auctioned off 29,656.51 Bitcoins, valued at $17 million at the time. The agency reported that 45 registered bidders participated, with 63 bids made over the course of the auction. There was only one lucky bidder at the previous auction: venture capitalist Tim Draper. Terms of the auction were not disclosed which means the amount paid for the 30,000 Bitcoins remains a mystery.
Lo and behold, Draper has once again managed to get in on a deal. According to reports, Draper successfully bid on a lot with a total of 2,000 Bitcoins on behalf of Draper Associates. Draper did not disclose how much was paid for the lot. This set of Bitcoins will be used to invest 300 Bitcoins in every startup in the current session of Boost, a program created by Adam Draper, his son, to help Bitcoin startups.
The Marshals Service has yet to confirm Draper’s announcement, but stated that “We are unable to confirm, deny or make any further announcements until the entire award process has concluded, including the completion of required financial transactions.”
No news yet as to who the other winners are but they are expected to be revealed in the following days. There are still 94,000 Bitcoin left to be auctioned off in the coming months.
photo credit: btckeychain via photopin cc
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