Later Today: $40 Million Worth Of Bitcoin To Be Sold On Auction By The US Government

More than 4,000 BTC will be auctioned today by the United States Marshals Service (USMS). The procedure will happen with sealed bids where the highest bidder gets the bitcoins. All of the bitcoins included in the auction have been forfeited in different federal criminal, administrative, and civil cases.

$40 Million Worth of BTC To Be Auctioned Today

The US Marshal Service will carry out a sealed bid auction for around 4041 BTC later today. The amount, at current BTC rates, equals a little less than $40 million.

According to the official release, there is a required deposit to participate in the auction set to $200,000. The bitcoins will be sold in four different series, divided into several blocks. This is how the distribution looks like:

USMS Bitcoin Auction Lot Distribution. Source: USMS

To participate, bidders had to register with the USMS. The registration process opened on February 3rd and ended on Wednesday 12th, and those who are approved to take part must have received a confirmation from the USMS. All documentation received after the deadline won’t be considered.

Convenient Timing

The auction comes at a rather convenient timing. Earlier today, Cryptopotato reported that Bitcoin’s price charted a Golden Cross. This means that the 50MA crossed above the 200MA. This has historically been a significant bull flag.

The last time this happened, Bitcoin’s price surged 165% in about 60 days. In other words, the $40 million worth of BTC today could amount to more than $106 million in less than two months if history repeats itself.

The rules of the auction are relatively simple. The eligible bidder who offers the highest price will be the one to receive the BTC. If there’s more than one bid at the same rate, the first bid will win. Additionally, in the event of a default of a winning bidder, the next highest bidder will get the BTC.

Back in 2014, popular Bitcoin proponent Tim Draper participated in a similar auction that sold 30,000 bitcoins seized in the Silk Road bust and bought them all. It’s unclear how much money he paid for the amount, but that stash is currently worth upwards of $290 million.