Bitcoin Exchange, itBit Successful Bidder At US Marshals Auction
New York-based Bitcoin exchange itBit said Monday it won 5 blocks of the digital currency at last week’s auction conducted by the US Marshals Service.
The bid by itBit was organized on behalf of a syndicate of the exchange’s and OTC (over-the-counter) trading clients, said Bobby Cho, director of trading at itBit, in an email to the media.
The 5 blocks of the virtual currency may have added up to at least 10,000 Bitcoins.
Last week’s auction included 21 blocks of 2,000 Bitcoins and 1 block of over 2,341.
The US government Thursday held its final auction of Bitcoins seized during the prosecution of the creator of Silk Road, an online black market where the virtual currency could be used to buy illegal drugs and other goods.
It auctioned 44,341 Bitcoins last week.
When contacted for comment, the US Marshals Service said it was not anticipating further announcements Monday.
itBit also won part of the US government’s auction in March, nabbing 3,000 of the 50,000 Bitcoins auctioned.
In May, itBit became the 1st virtual currency company to receive a charter to operate as a trust company in the State of New York.
In late trading on Monday, Bitcoin was trading up 1.8% on the day at 379.27 on the BitStamp platform. That put the value of the 44,341 bitcoins auctioned at about $16.8-M.
Bitcoin is used as a vehicle for moving money around the world quickly and anonymously via the Web without the need for 3rd-party verification.
Stay tuned…
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
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