[2017/02/07] Chicago Suburb To Sell $10,000 in Bitcoins Seized From Criminals

[bitlamp]

Vernon Hills, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, will sell $10,000 worth of bitcoins that police seized from criminals, according to The Chicago Tribune. The bitcoins were seized during joint police investigations with federal authorities.

Village trustees authorized Nikki Larson, the village finance director, to begin the process of selling the bitcoins. Police did not reveal details of the investigation.

Bitcoins Swapped For Dollars

Since the village does not have use for the bitcoins, Larson recommended that the village accept its share of the confiscated bitcoins and convert them into U.S. currency.

The village will create a Coinbase account, which Larson characterized as a police-friendly online depository. The trustees authorized Larson to create a regular bank account to link with the Coinbase account and sell the bitcoins. The proceeds from the sale will go to the police department’s asset forfeiture account.

Larson said bitcoin sells at prices fluctuating daily between $700 and $900 per coin.

Larson also said a second bitcoin sale is likely later this year because the police are conducting another online criminal investigation.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/chicago-suburb-to-sell-10000-worth-of-bitcoins-seized-from-criminals/

[Coin-Keeper]

Think those coins have any "taint"?  LOL!  It might be a good buy if they would save 100 per BTC, but I bet they go for virtually full price.  Fun to watch though!

[Winner]

Hi bitlamp,

thanks for that article, it made me think about somethings.

First, I do think that is pretty bad + ridiculous that someone could just take someones money and sell it off to the public without any remorse (It shouldn't matter if the person was a criminal or not).

Second, although this is the second point it is the most important. SECURE THE COINS! How hard is it to just encrypt a wallet and hide it somewhere before someone tries taking it and claiming it as theirs.

Bitcoin.com has the instructions on how to do that:

Code:

https://bitcoin.org/en/secure-your-wallet

From Bitcoin.com:

Code:

Encrypt your wallet

Encrypting your wallet or your smartphone allows you to set a password for anyone trying to withdraw any funds. This helps protect against thieves, though it cannot protect against keylogging hardware or software.

Never forget your password

You should make sure you never forget the password or your funds will be permanently lost. Unlike your bank, there are very limited password recovery options with Bitcoin. In fact, you should be able to remember your password even after many years without using it. In doubt, you might want to keep a paper copy of your password in a safe place like a vault.

Use a strong password

Any password that contains only letters or recognizable words can be considered very weak and easy to break. A strong password must contain letters, numbers, punctuation marks and must be at least 16 characters long. The most secure passwords are those generated by programs designed specifically for that purpose. Strong passwords are usually harder to remember, so you should take care in memorizing it.

Have encrypted wallet backups as well.

[naidray]

Vernon Hills, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, will sell $10,000 worth of bitcoins that police seized from criminals, according to The Chicago Tribune. The bitcoins were seized during joint police investigations with federal authorities.

Village trustees authorized Nikki Larson, the village finance director, to begin the process of selling the bitcoins. Police did not reveal details of the investigation.

Bitcoins Swapped For Dollars

Since the village does not have use for the bitcoins, Larson recommended that the village accept its share of the confiscated bitcoins and convert them into U.S. currency.

The village will create a Coinbase account, which Larson characterized as a police-friendly online depository. The trustees authorized Larson to create a regular bank account to link with the Coinbase account and sell the bitcoins. The proceeds from the sale will go to the police department’s asset forfeiture account.

Larson said bitcoin sells at prices fluctuating daily between $700 and $900 per coin.

Larson also said a second bitcoin sale is likely later this year because the police are conducting another online criminal investigation.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/chicago-suburb-to-sell-10000-worth-of-bitcoins-seized-from-criminals/

These criminals are definitely not the first to be raided and have their bitcoins kept. I remember when Silk Road was taken down, and all of those bitcoins were seized. The Chicago Police should definitely save some of the bitcoins, for drug stings, and to possibly make a profit. If they held the coins for a year, when Bitcoin is expected to hit $2000, the police department would have made a large profit lol

[TraderTimm]

I'm sure their 9.91 BTC will be eaten up in a flash.

This is a non-event, from a market standpoint. Most piles of bids or asks are beyond the 1,000 BTC range. (At least those that have any effect on how price behaves.)