A Bitcoin logo is displayed at the Bitcoin Center New York City in New York's financial district July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Monday announced that it would hold a final auction of bitcoins seized during the prosecution of the creator of Silk Road, an online black market where illegal drugs and other goods could be purchased with the digital currency. The U.S. Marshals Service said it would hold an online auction on Nov. 5 for about 44,341 bitcoins. The auction will be the last of bitcoins the government took into custody while prosecuting Ross Ulbricht, who authorities say ran Silk Road and was sentenced in May to life in prison. (This story corrects Ulbricht’s date of sentencing to May from June in last paragraph) Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
The US government is to sell off the remainder of the Bitcoin it seized during the prosecution of the creator of Silk Road, the online black market where drugs and weapons could be purchased with digital currency. The online auction, of about BTC 44,341 ($10.8m), will be held on 5 November.