[2018-01-24] Riot Blockchain Won 500 Bitcoins in U.S. Marshals Auction

[Rick Nolan]

Riot Blockchain Inc. won 500 bitcoins in an auction of property seized by the U.S. Marshals Service. This is reported by Bloomberg.

The U.S. government held an auction of about 3,813 bitcoins that were seized in federal criminal, civil and administrative cases on January 22. Participants had to stump up a $200,000 deposit to take part, and bids were made in cash in U.S. dollars.

Source: https://hype.codes/riot-blockchain-won-500-bitcoins-us-marshals-auction

[1Referee]

That's a pretty sweet deal to be honest. It translates into $10,3XX per coin, which is something that you can't buy it for when using an exchange to do so. If you would use an exchange to do this, and especially with how thin the market is nowadays, it would require you to pay a hefty 10-15% premium. That's the main reason why +1000/10,000BTC orders are being settled in OTC markets. There are dedicated Bitcoin exchanges offering OTC trades for their more wealthy customers as optional service. It's the only way to move large quantities.

Nice throwback; https://www.coindesk.com/four-winners-44000-bitcoins-final-silk-road-auction/

These 44,000BTC coming from SilkRoad were worth around $14.6 million back then, translating into ~$330 per Bitcoin.

[vit05]

  They won the auction, but they have paid for the BTC. Say they have won the BTC it is exaggerated. And the thing it is not the only one. In other similar operations, the government has to auction their stack. I am wondering how long until they will see the obvious that is better just hold BTC and auction their fiat.