Bitcoin Forum

I think you made a mistake in the title by putting the word 'Results' in there.

I hope we'll be able to see the results on Monday.

Probably it will be confidential, at least for a while until it's leaked. I'm really curious about the final price.

I hope we'll be able to see the results on Monday.

Probably it will be confidential, at least for a while until it's leaked. I'm really curious about the final price.

It won't be confidential. It is a matter of public record as it is with any asset auction by the DOJ.

Probably it will be confidential, at least for a while until it's leaked. I'm really curious about the final price.

It won't be confidential. It is a matter of public record as it is with any asset auction by the DOJ.

I'm expecting it simply to be somewhat below the current market price, considering that if you wanted to buy some you'd easily be able to do so at the current price, so having an auction wouldn't achieve anything. It's simply a question of how far below the market price and whether or not we'll see an increase in the supply of BTC following this or whether they'll just hoard it.

Thanks for the post, look forward to the final results.
I think it's premature to assume that the price was at a discount to the market price on the exchanges.

I'm expecting it simply to be somewhat below the current market price, considering that if you wanted to buy some you'd easily be able to do so at the current price, so having an auction wouldn't achieve anything. It's simply a question of how far below the market price and whether or not we'll see an increase in the supply of BTC following this or whether they'll just hoard it.

Thanks for the post, look forward to the final results.
I think it's premature to assume that the price was at a discount to the market price on the exchanges.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-bitcoin-auction-20140627,0,1104979.story

... It's not simply a matter of how far below the market price - it could very well be above it.

Nope!

These are the results as relased so far by the government.

I guess Monday we'll find out the prices.

nice info...I wish they were actually auctioned at a price higher than market price

This may or may not be relevant to the thread, but why did Ross Ulbricht give up his passphrase to the silkroad wallet? If the FBI won't allow him to ever access those bitcoins again, then delete the wallet. Why give them to the FBI? It's not even their right to profit off this.

This may or may not be relevant to the thread, but why did Ross Ulbricht give up his passphrase to the silkroad wallet? If the FBI won't allow him to ever access those bitcoins again, then delete the wallet. Why give them to the FBI? It's not even their right to profit off this.

I think you made a mistake in the title by putting the word 'Results' in there.

Perhaps they managed to retrieve the passphrase without asking him.  Hard to say, really, could have been any number of ways it went down.  I figure the reason they aren't auctioning all the coins that were supposedly seized is because they don't have the passphrase(s) for the other coins.

nice info...I wish they were actually auctioned at a price higher than market price

From what I know (and correct me if I'm wrong because I'm quoting this from memory):

- The coins that were sold above were seized from the Silk Road server. They were seen as proceeds of crime so naturally they took them. If Ross admitted that they were his coins he pretty much loses the case. When they apprehended Ross in the library he was logged on to SR and some other panels he used, I'm guessing the wallet was decrypted at that point. I don't know if they transferred the coins right then or by obtaining the password at a later date.

- Ross had a separate batch of coins that weren't on the SR server and he's adamant those are his own coins.

Either way, as no one has come forward claiming the coins found on the SR server and it's property used in crime they're allowed to sell it - I don't know the exact legislation behind it but it happens all the time when seized goods get auctioned off.

It'll be really interesting to see what affect this has on the market.

It is imposible. The bidder wouldn't bid the price higher than the market price otherwise they just go to exchange.

Chris DeMuth, a partner at Rangeley Capital who had been considering bidding, said last week the chance the Marshals Service gets the market price for the bitcoins is low.

"Anyone could pay market prices on existing exchanges," he said. "So the key question is how much of a discount do bidders want."

[1] bad passwords are easy to crack...don't use less than 100 characters or equivalent on the first level on encryption and a few other tricks.

[2] They only tell us they have the other coins

Nope!

These are the results as relased so far by the government.

I guess Monday we'll find out the prices.

My question is HOW THE HELL did they seize the other 140K ish coins?
I mean, he doesnt have some backup of the wallets or they are like hot wallets
for the servers?
Either way, the fact they got them and the wallets werent encrypted and he doesnt
have some uber safe dark cloud storage of the wallets for cases like this is shocking.

Im amazed they got that many coins that easy and they were just sitting open on the
PCs or servers they seized them from?  Kinda shocking to me honestly but I dont know
the whole story yet.


E.

Results of our US Marshals bitcoin syndicate:

Bidders - 42
Bids received - 186
BTC quantity bid - 48,013

Winners notifed by USMS on Mon

What's known so far:


https://twitter.com/Bitcoin_Casino/status/482986823669788672

https://twitter.com/Bitcoin_Casino/status/482986823669788672

Nope!

These are the results as relased so far by the government.

I guess Monday we'll find out the prices.

How accurate is the source and this info? I thought it was 30k btc up for auction, how did there end up being almost 50k?

a bid does not mean a block. just means different price

Anyone who buys those US Marshall Bitcoins is going to be TRACKED in the blockchain by the Feds, NSA, etc.  I recommend LAUNDERING those coins pronto

I have a feeling that once the sales price is announced it could trigger some big movement in bitcoin market price... Especially if the btc sells for over $18m total. 

You're just now coming to to this realization?

Gotcha.

I expect a fairly decent move upward this week.

Nothing insane, but $625-$675 is definitely possible.

Then again, wtf do I know?

I've been on Bitcointalk for a long time. I never posted until recently.

I've been on Bitcointalk for a long time. I never posted until recently. I was stoned a few weeks ago and made an account. Hence the "Sometimes I get really stoned...and I troll" under my name. lol

I don't use social media or forums very much. I've never used Facebook, never even had an account. They are compulsive time wasters.

I spend too much time on this forum lately. I need to stop.

I would, except I like irritating the easily offended.

Just because you say something doesn't make it true.  ::)

But anyways I look forward to the auction results.

Until those other coins go on auction, we won't know for certain that they do have control over them.  They might be "seized" in the sense that Ulbricht won't have access to them, but it doesn't necessarily mean they've got the keys and can move the coins.

So what do you think about those numbers? Isn't safe to assume that half of the Bitcoins have been purchased at market price i.e. $600 and the other half at much lower price? 42 bidders is a very small number. I would guess that the other half have been acquired at <$500 and inevitably will be sold on Monday to the market driving the price below $500...

Any thoughts?

I'm expecting it simply to be somewhat below the current market price, considering that if you wanted to buy some you'd easily be able to do so at the current price, so having an auction wouldn't achieve anything. It's simply a question of how far below the market price and whether or not we'll see an increase in the supply of BTC following this or whether they'll just hoard it.

So what do you think about those numbers? Isn't safe to assume that half of the Bitcoins have been purchased at market price i.e. $600 and the other half at much lower price? 42 bidders is a very small number. I would guess that the other half have been acquired at <$500 and inevitably will be sold on Monday to the market driving the price below $500...

Any thoughts?

http://newsbtc.com/2014/06/28/barry-silbert-releases-results-bidding-syndicate-us-marshals-bitcoin-auction/

What's known so far:
https://twitter.com/Bitcoin_Casino/status/482986823669788672

It won't be confidential. It is a matter of public record as it is with any asset auction by the DOJ.

I read somewhere that the prices nor the names of the winners are not going to be made public by the government.

In some circumstances, the agency will be able to respond to the request within the standard time limit established by the FOIA – approximately one month

Not long it does not contain classified or information in regards to american security. The only reason they get held up or not given is for those specified reasons. They really have no reason to not give the information up, what reason could they have?
http://www.foia.gov/
Think this would qualify. Think the Foia at the DOJ would even ask why they are keeping this hidden from public view.

Thanks. I cannot imagine any excuse for withholding the winning price.  They may perhaps contend that the identity of the winners is private information, but even that seems unlikely.

if you buy a car, house, rings, or anything else from [ the USMS ] it is made public. Why hide this?

10. What information about the auction process or results will the USMS release?
 
The USMS will contact the winning and losing bidders directly. The USMS will not publicly
release any information pertaining to the auction process or results.

11. What information about the auction process or results might be available through a FOIA
request?
 
Agency records or information which is not covered by one or more of the FOIA’s Exemptions is
subject to disclosure. Such determinations will be made in accordance with
Department of Justice regulations available at

So what do you think about those numbers? Isn't safe to assume that half of the Bitcoins have been purchased at market price i.e. $600 and the other half at much lower price? 42 bidders is a very small number. I would guess that the other half have been acquired at <$500 and inevitably will be sold on Monday to the market driving the price below $500...

Any thoughts?

§ 16.8Business information.
(a) In general. Business information obtained by the Department from a submitter will be disclosed under the FOIA only under this section.
(b) Definitions. For purposes of this section:
(1) Business information means commercial or financial information obtained by the Department from a submitter that may be protected from disclosure under Exemption 4 of the FOIA.
(2) Submitter means any person or entity from whom the Department obtains business information, directly or indirectly. The term includes corporations; state, local, and tribal governments; and foreign governments.
(c) Designation of business information. A submitter of business information will use good-faith efforts to designate, by appropriate markings, either at the time of submission or at a reasonable time thereafter, any portions of its submission that it considers to be protected from disclosure under Exemption 4. These designations will expire ten years after the date of the submission unless the submitter requests, and provides justification for, a longer designation period.
(d) Notice to submitters. A component shall provide a submitter with prompt written notice of a FOIA request or administrative appeal that seeks its business information wherever required under paragraph (e) of this section, except as provided in paragraph (h) of this section, in order to give the submitter an opportunity to object to disclosure of any specified portion of that information under paragraph (f) of this section. The notice shall either describe the business information requested or include copies of the requested records or record portions containing the information. When notification of a voluminous number of submitters is required, notification may be made by posting or publishing the notice in a place reasonably likely to accomplish it.
(e) Where notice is required. Notice shall be given to a submitter wherever:
(1) The information has been designated in good faith by the submitter as information considered protected from disclosure under Exemption 4; or
(2) The component has reason to believe that the information may be protected from disclosure under Exemption 4.
(f) Opportunity to object to disclosure. A component will allow a submitter a reasonable time to respond to the notice described in paragraph (d) of this section and will specify that time period within the notice. If a submitter has any objection to disclosure, it is required to submit a detailed written statement. The statement must specify all grounds for withholding any portion of the information under any exemption of the FOIA and, in the case of Exemption 4, it must show why the information is a trade secret or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential. In the event that a submitter fails to respond to the notice within the time specified in it, the submitter will be considered to have no objection to disclosure of the information. Information provided by the submitter that is not received by the component until after its disclosure decision has been made shall not be considered by the component. Information provided by a submitter under this paragraph may itself be subject to disclosure under the FOIA.
(g) Notice of intent to disclose. A component shall consider a submitter's objections and specific grounds for nondisclosure in deciding whether to disclose business information. Whenever a component decides to disclose business information over the objection of a submitter, the component shall give the submitter written notice, which shall include:
(1) A statement of the reason(s) why each of the submitter's disclosure objections was not sustained;
(2) A description of the business information to be disclosed; and
(3) A specified disclosure date, which shall be a reasonable time subsequent to the notice.
(h) Exceptions to notice requirements. The notice requirements of paragraphs (d) and (g) of this section shall not apply if:
(1) The component determines that the information should not be disclosed;
(2) The information lawfully has been published or has been officially made available to the public;
(3) Disclosure of the information is required by statute (other than the FOIA) or by a regulation issued in accordance with the requirements of Executive Order 12600 (3 CFR, 1988 Comp., p. 235); or
(4) The designation made by the submitter under paragraph (c) of this section appears obviously frivolous—except that, in such a case, the component shall, within a reasonable time prior to a specified disclosure date, give the submitter written notice of any final decision to disclose the information.
(i) Notice of FOIA lawsuit. Whenever a requester files a lawsuit seeking to compel the disclosure of business information, the component shall promptly notify the submitter.
(j) Corresponding notice to requesters. Whenever a component provides a submitter with notice and an opportunity to object to disclosure under paragraph (d) of this section, the component shall also notify the requester(s). Whenever a component notifies a submitter of its intent to disclose requested information under paragraph (g) of this section, the component shall also notify the requester(s). Whenever a submitter files a lawsuit seeking to prevent the disclosure of business information, the component shall notify the requester(s).
[Order No. 2156-98, 63 FR 29593, June 1, 1998; 63 FR 51401, Sept. 25, 1998]

Exemption 4
Exemption 4 of the FOIA protects "trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person [that is] privileged or confidential." (1) This exemption is intended to protect the interests of both the government and submitters of information. Its very existence encourages submitters to voluntarily furnish useful commercial or financial information to the government and it correspondingly provides the government with an assurance that such information will be reliable. The exemption also affords protection to those submitters who are required to furnish commercial or financial information to the government by safeguarding them from the competitive disadvantages that could result from disclosure. (2) The exemption covers two broad categories of information in federal agency records: (1) trade secrets; and (2) information that is (a) commercial or financial, and (b) obtained from a person, and (c) privileged or confidential

Bidders understand this and will research prior owners, and how they treated and or up kept items. A drug dealer with a 5 million dollar mansion may have had all the walls ripped out by the DEA, might require 1 million in repair. But thats all the fun of the auction game.

Only way DOJ will not release information is under exemption 4

Nope!

These are the results as relased so far by the government.

I guess Monday we'll find out the prices.

In auctions of material goods, like cars or houses, the USMS contracts a private company to keep custody of the goods and allow inspection by prospective bidders.  Check their pages for prior auctions.

I'm sure that some people will profit a lot from this.

Which is why this was a odd auction to start with.

the winning bidders will likely have an initial paper gain but the discount would likely not be large enough so that the buyer could sell all 3k coins on an exchange and still have a profit

Does anyone know how the FBI/USMS handles seized "virtual" property, such as shares of US or foreign companies, tickets for big games, or Linden Dollars?  Presumably they followed the same model.

Bah.. I came back here for an update hoping for real content, but so far nothing. Really, we can just get rid of these first 5 pages. If results are to be released, what time and timezone would it be?

Then can you quote it? All that's relevant is that info may or may not be released on Monday, no exact time or time zone mentioned.

http://newsbtc.com/2014/06/28/barry-silbert-releases-results-bidding-syndicate-us-marshals-bitcoin-auction/

Here's some terrible math.  42 bidders x $25,000 minimum = $1,050,000 / 48,013 coins bid =  $21.87 per BTC.  Let's hope not.
:)

Here's some terrible math.  42 bidders x $25,000 minimum = $1,050,000 / 48,013 coins bid =  $21.87 per BTC.  Let's hope not.

More likely the $1,050,000 would bid on 1 block of 3,000 which would be $350 per coin.

Just shows we don't have a clue until someone steps forward Monday.

:)

Bah.. I came back here for an update hoping for real content, but so far nothing. Really, we can just get rid of these first 5 pages. If results are to be released, what time and timezone would it be?

 or they can pump the price up and then sale

Then can you quote it? All that's relevant is that info may or may not be released on Monday, no exact time or time zone mentioned.

I really don't think we will get results through any official channels anyway.

10. What information about the auction process or results will the USMS release?
 
The USMS will contact the winning and losing bidders directly. The USMS will not publicly
release any information pertaining to the auction process or results.
 
11. What information about the auction process or results might be available through a FOIA
request?
 
Agency records or information which is not covered by one or more of the FOIA’s Exemptions is
subject to disclosure. Such determinations will be made in accordance with
Department of Justice regulations available at http://www.justice.gov/oip/04_1_1.html and
title28-vol1-part16.xml#seqnum16.8.

Agency records or information which is not covered by one or more of the FOIA’s Exemptions is
subject to disclosure. Such determinations will be made in accordance with
Department of Justice regulations available at http://www.justice.gov/oip/04_1_1.html and
title28-vol1-part16.xml#seqnum16.8.

Only way DOJ will not release information is under exemption 4





They are not going to give you the bank account # of the people who got the coins lol

I am sure in good time the real winners will come out. At least the losers will mention what they bid and did not win, but I'm pretty sure the winners will want the limelight, considering how all the major financial news sources are reporting on it.

This may or may not be relevant to the thread, but why did Ross Ulbricht give up his passphrase to the silkroad wallet? If the FBI won't allow him to ever access those bitcoins again, then delete the wallet. Why give them to the FBI? It's not even their right to profit off this.

True, although it's wrong to assume that all the money was for 'crime'. Firstly, it was a global marketplace, and a Portugese citizen buying most drugs isn't illegal in Portugal. For another, a good amount of money was for electronics, not drugs, which aren't illegal (yet).

My question is HOW THE HELL did they seize the other 140K ish coins?
I mean, he doesnt have some backup of the wallets or they are like hot wallets
for the servers?
Either way, the fact they got them and the wallets werent encrypted and he doesnt
have some uber safe dark cloud storage of the wallets for cases like this is shocking.

Im amazed they got that many coins that easy and they were just sitting open on the
PCs or servers they seized them from?  Kinda shocking to me honestly but I dont know
the whole story yet.


E.

Really interesting to me that bitcoin price has actually been going up.  I really suspected one or more big bag holders would try to induce some panic sell's to try and drive the price down in an effort to buy back in really low.

Will be interesting to see whether or not any of these winning bid's actually disclose any real figures insofar as what they paid at auction.

there are still no real results on auction prices that would make us confident that buying is a good option now.
i think its better to wait than to trade until we actualy know something worth knowing.

What the heck, if everybody is guessing on thin air, I may as well:

................

One or more of the highest bidders failed to send the full amount in time, and that is why the auction stalled -- the USMS had to notify the next bidder, and give him another day or two to pay.

I wonder if the people who made offers for $800+ were also trying to get multiple auction blocks. I'm not sure if that would even by allowed by the auction format, but that is the only "justification" I can make for buying blocks at $800+.

The bid form allowed one person to specify any number (0-9) of 3'000 BTC 'A' lots, all at the same price, and optionally the 2'655 BTC 'B' lot., at some other price.  But a person could submit as many forms as he wanted, with different prices.  Obviously if all his forms added to more than 9 A blocks and 1 B blocks, some of his bids would never win.

How could they let people know they lost already when the award process is ongoing? You have to pass the background check before the auction so that can't be it. I bet someone won all the blocks of coins at a high price, and if I am not mistaken, I read or heard they were selling them in chunks so no one entity could turn around and sell them. I think it was on the news clip that aired right before the auction. My guess is some bank bought them all and they are trying to revise the rules, to whose benefit I have no idea.

It is true that on one form you could bid for multiple lots at one price, but...

If you wanted to bid at different prices then you needed multiple forms and you would then have to make multiple $200,000 deposits - one for each form.

I think the $200,000 per form deposit probably made most people fill out just one form = one bid price on one or more lots.

The Marshalls Service is now saying that all the coins were won by the same bidder.

The Marshalls Service is now saying that all the coins were won by the same bidder.

source, please?

As seen on coindesk: http://www.coindesk.com/us-marshals-one-auction-bidder-claimed-all-30000-silk-road-bitcoins/

Who knows if it is true, seems legit though.

That sounds like a good guess to me.

Let the conspiracies begin....  :o ::)

As seen on coindesk: http://www.coindesk.com/us-marshals-one-auction-bidder-claimed-all-30000-silk-road-bitcoins/
Who knows if it is true, seems legit though.

Let the conspiracies begin....  :o ::)

So this is the address which holds all those coins now:
https://blockchain.info/address/1a8LDh3qtCdMFAgRXzMrdvB8w1EG4h1Xi

And people have already started begging by putting public notes on transactions to this address.

^^ That article provides absolutely zero info about "Who Won The Silk Road Bitcoin Auction??"

Putting a bold headline and a funky YouTube video does not help. Content is king.

Will be fun when we find out who bought the coins. :)

The CIA bought them as an insurance policy against the dollar crash.

if we ever find out who bought them:D

Tim Draper?

https://medium.com/@vaurum/tim-draper-wins-govt-auction-partners-with-vaurum-to-provide-bitcoin-liquidity-in-emerging-markets-88f04a1d8598

And the winner is...@TimDraper. Well done, Tim. Don't go spending all your bitcoin in one place. But if you do...https://t.co/JprUxGrxFs

Its true
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/sns-rt-us-usa-bitcoin-20140701,0,4038036.story

Tim Draper?

https://medium.com/@vaurum/tim-draper-wins-govt-auction-partners-with-vaurum-to-provide-bitcoin-liquidity-in-emerging-markets-88f04a1d8598

Why are most of the losers keeping quiet about what price they bid at?

The don't want to look foolish?

Bitcoin prices were up 3.1 percent Friday at $597.41 per coin, according to the digital currency exchange CoinDesk.

The don't want to look foolish?

Dear Requester:

                The United States Marshals Service is in receipt of your Freedom of Information/Privacy Act request for records maintained by this Bureau.  We have commenced a search for documents responsive to your request and will contact you when our processing is complete.

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Why are most of the losers keeping quiet about what price they bid at?

Just got this back from my FOIA request

Just got this back from my FOIA request

The amount it is public record I tried to tell you guys this at the start, burtw filed as soon as he could and I commend him for his swift action. The bitcoin community is to retroactive and not proactive in general.

What exactly were you requesting from your FOIA request? It is already known that the Tim guy was the person who won the auction

I did it for grins.  It turned out to be way easier than I expected.  I may file some more just for the heck of it.

I asked for how much he paid.  They have to tell me or come up with a good reason not to tell me.

There is a case to withhold the information out of public interest.  IRS already knows, and that's all that matters at his point.  Hopefully, the buyer will volunteer the info, otherwise the government may be liable for releasing personal information detrimental to his/her safety.

Its not protected by any "trade or business secerets" he declared the coins as personal property on the live press release. The only question is how long will it take :), you can also ask them to waive the fee's.

He also has said that he is going to use the coins to increase adoption in third world countries. If it were to get out that he paid "x" for the coins but ends up selling the coins for more to third world citizens then people could get upset with him and demand that he charge only what he paid.

so has anybody found out for how much the coins were sold for. I am assuming Tim Draper overpaid because he won all 10 batches. for the full theory check out this article:
http://www.btcfeed.net/news/winner-of-bitcoin-auction/ (http://www.btcfeed.net/news/winner-of-bitcoin-auction/)

Nope.  I watched the press conference where they discussed all their plans.  Twice he was asked how much he paid for the coins and he jokingly said both times "more the the other bidders".  I get the distinct impression he's going to keep that a secret.  Unless the information gets leaked somehow, I don't think we're ever going to find out.   

Any word on FOIA requests? I wonder if that could get the price public.

That was my impression as well. And I also got the impression that the USMS wasn't going to say anything either. Any word on FOIA requests? I wonder if that could get the price public.

We bid $455 which at the time was 81% of market value.  Not accepted of course.  Rumor has it winning bid(s) was at spot or maybe even above spot.

Someone claimed somewhere on this forum that he submitted one.  Got a canned reply "we got your request and we are processing it, be prepared to pay up to 25$".

Me.
In this thread.
One page back.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=668635.msg7648454#msg7648454

Yes, I may have to pay $25, what does that mean?  Can someone translate that goobermint funny money into Bitcoins for me so I can understand it?  ;)

It means that you may get your FOI request granted but you have to pay for the research time.

If anyone hears about the actual results of this, instead of ridiculous speculation, please do tell. For instance, a response from an FOIA request...

I think I can find out why bitcoin prices have been dropping so badly now. I'm willing to bet people are now pricing in this auction discount. UGH.

I thought Tim Draper had mentioned they were around $672 per BTC. I can;t seem to find the article right now though.

I have not seen any menion of it.  It should be all over the place if he did, I expect.

Has anyone gotten a response to FOIA requests looking to determine the price that this auction closed at?

You still have a couple of years wait for that one.

I thought that there was a much shorter deadline for responding to a FOIA request (2 months? 3 months?)

Those that can't do teach. Those that can't teach get a government job.

Yes, it's supposed to be 20 days

I know that.  I am a teacher at a public university.  ;D

Do you remember who submitted the FOIA?  What it you?

I did.  No response yet.

The response is overdue.  Now what?  Send them a reminder notice?

Each fiscal year, agencies receive and process thousands of requests.  Sometimes, an agency will be able to respond within the standard time limit established by the FOIA, which is twenty working days, or about a month.  Although agencies make every effort to respond to FOIA requests as quickly as possible, in some cases they simply cannot do so within the twenty days.  In this situation, the request is considered “backlogged.”  The “backlog” data on FOIA.gov will show you how many requests were pending beyond the statutory time period at the end of the fiscal year.

I did.  No response yet.
The response is overdue.  Now what?  Send them a reminder notice?

Duh, maybe send them an extremely polite paper letter asking whether your FOIA is still being processed...

Each fiscal year, agencies receive and process thousands of requests.  Sometimes, an agency will be able to respond within the standard time limit established by the FOIA, which is twenty working days, or about a month.  Although agencies make every effort to respond to FOIA requests as quickly as possible, in some cases they simply cannot do so within the twenty days.  In this situation, the request is considered “backlogged.”  The “backlog” data on FOIA.gov will show you how many requests were pending beyond the statutory time period at the end of the fiscal year.

Please see what QuestionAuthority had posted about the process. Every year agencies that are behind on processing FOIA requests make a report that says how many people are waiting in front of you.

I read that.  Still, a nice query letter may prompt someone to pull that request from the bottom of his drawer and push it forward through the paper mill.

AFAIK there is not a queue of FOIA requests, certainly not across different agencies and branches.  I doubt that there are many requests stuck at the USMS auction offices (unless 10'000 bitcoiners all submitted a FOIA for that auction.  :D)

I read that.  Still, a nice query letter may prompt someone to pull that request from the bottom of his drawer and push it forward through the paper mill.

AFAIK there is not a queue of FOIA requests, certainly not across different agencies and branches.  I doubt that there are many requests stuck at the USMS auction offices (unless 10'000 bitcoiners all submitted a FOIA for that auction.  :D)

Is there a way to find the real btc-usd rate, between blockchain transactions and fiat money?

We know [ Tim Draper ] didn't pay far under market because of what one of the losing bidders divulged.

I am aware of someone revealing a bid in the 400--500$ range.  (The market price at the time was over 600$.)  Were there other cases of people declaring their bids?

Somehow Tim Draper's face reminds me of Eike Batista, formerly the richest man in Brazil, whose net worth fell from plus 34 billion US$ to minus 1 billion in less than two years:

http://oglobo.globo.com/economia/eike-tem-patrimonio-liquido-de-us-1-bilhao-negativo-13968641

http://www.tylatin.org/extras/cb2.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nn3PcESF7w