[2014-06-12] WSJ: FBI to Auction Bitcoins on June 27 (Non Paywall)

[freedomno1]

Alternative Source for this Article:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=650185.0

SUMMARY:
Do you have spare millions lying around that you want to invest in something new? The U.S. government will be auctioning off blocks of 3000 bitcoins in July.

Continued in Article
http://gigaom.com/2014/06/12/us-will-auction-bitcoins-seized-from-silk-road-bidders-must-deposit-200000/

Secondary Sourcing
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/06/12/silk-road-bitcoin-on-the-move-as-government-prepares-to-auction-off-18-million-worth/

Third Source
http://www.coindesk.com/18-million-worth-of-silk-road-bitcoin-to-be-sold-by-us-government/
__
Comment
From the FBI to the Ultra Rich thank goodness  

[thezerg]

Alternative Source for this Article:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=650185.0

SUMMARY:
Do you have spare millions lying around that you want to invest in something new? The U.S. government will be auctioning off blocks of 3000 bitcoins in July.

Continued in Article
http://gigaom.com/2014/06/12/us-will-auction-bitcoins-seized-from-silk-road-bidders-must-deposit-200000/

Secondary Sourcing
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/06/12/silk-road-bitcoin-on-the-move-as-government-prepares-to-auction-off-18-million-worth/

Third Source
http://www.coindesk.com/18-million-worth-of-silk-road-bitcoin-to-be-sold-by-us-government/
__
Comment
From the FBI to the Ultra Rich thank goodness  

I wonder how soon you get the coins after your wire xfer goes through... could be important if your plan is to flip some.

[tins]

So stupid, only wealthy will be able to purchase these at greats rates.

[zonacats]

So what's everyone going to do?

Can see this going one of 2 ways:

(1) The 174K BTC are auctioned off at a discount and combined with the flood of injecting 1% into the market causes BTC to drop

or

(2) The 174K BTC are auctioned off at higher than $600 per coin - it's not easy to obtain chunks of BTC of that size (i.e. VC's or companies with long-term plans for BTC) and BTC continues to rise


Or everyone sits tight and waits while nothing happens.

[Minor]

So what's everyone going to do?

Can see this going one of 2 ways:

(1) The 174K BTC are auctioned off at a discount and combined with the flood of injecting 1% into the market causes BTC to drop

or

(2) The 174K BTC are auctioned off at higher than $600 per coin - it's not easy to obtain chunks of BTC of that size (i.e. VC's or companies with long-term plans for BTC) and BTC continues to rise


Or everyone sits tight and waits while nothing happens.

They're auctioning blocs of 3000 BTC.
According to BitcoinAverage, over 78,000 coins were exchanged in the last 24h so it probably isn't all that hard to get "chunks of BTC of that size".
You want 30,000BTC by June 27?
Just buy 2000 a day between now and the auction, shouldn't affect the market all that much.

[niothor]

So what's everyone going to do?

Can see this going one of 2 ways:

(1) The 174K BTC are auctioned off at a discount and combined with the flood of injecting 1% into the market causes BTC to drop

or

(2) The 174K BTC are auctioned off at higher than $600 per coin - it's not easy to obtain chunks of BTC of that size (i.e. VC's or companies with long-term plans for BTC) and BTC continues to rise


Or everyone sits tight and waits while nothing happens.

http://www.usmarshals.gov/assets/2014/bitcoins/

They are selling only 30k coins not the whole seized stash

This auction is for 9 blocks of 3,000 bitcoins (“Series A Blocks”) and 1 block of 2,656.51306529 bitcoins (“Series B Block”).

[bryant.coleman]

Any idea when they will auction the second stash (containing BTC145,000)? I heard that the lawyers of Ross Ullbricht are currently engaged in a legal battle to prevent their auctioning. I haven't heard anything about it in the last 30 days or so.

[freedomno1]

Any idea when they will auction the second stash (containing BTC145,000)? I heard that the lawyers of Ross Ullbricht are currently engaged in a legal battle to prevent their auctioning. I haven't heard anything about it in the last 30 days or so.

As far as I know they still don't have access to Rosses private keys
I can't find a news report from 2014 that mentions them having the access to it just the course case documents from the related links
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2014/02/07/alleged-silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-pleads-not-guilty-on-all-charges/
http://www.wptv.com/news/science-tech/ross-ulbricht-wants-his-seized-bitcoins-back-suspected-of-selling-illegal-drugs-online

That is the reason they cannot sell them
I assumed he used a brainwallet and that is why the FBI is only able to auction off the Silk Road Bitcoins and not his stash
That said it is still confiscated and the property of the FBI for all intensive purposes.

http://blogs.reuters.com/unstructuredfinance/2013/10/14/fbi-not-waiting-for-silk-road-owners-bitcoin-pword/

Excerpt

According to the Forbes report, the feds managed to seize all the Bitcoin Silk Road had in its accounts, but when it came to going after Ulbricht’s “personal” Bitcoin account, the job wasn’t that easy. Ulbricht had a higher level of protection on his own account than he did on Silk Road’s digital “wallets,” as they are called, and the feds are stuck waiting for Ulbricht to cough up his password before they can take his Bitcoin.

“We have seized everything we were entitled to seize under the civil forfeiture action,” said the spokesman, Peter Donald.

And indeed, while the civil forfeiture action does repeat the claim that Ulbricht at some point earned 600,000 Bitcoin for himself, it does not specifically address the question of where that currency ended up. Nor does it describe a digital wallet held by Ulbricht himself. It simply names the various wallets associated with Silk Road, all of which the FBI has accessed and emptied.

The difference is not a trifling one. The specter of $80 million being held in a place that can’t be accessed even by one of the world’s most aggressive law enforcement organizations is both a thrilling and a frightening possibility.

[LiteCoinGuy]

Any idea when they will auction the second stash (containing BTC145,000)? I heard that the lawyers of Ross Ullbricht are currently engaged in a legal battle to prevent their auctioning. I haven't heard anything about it in the last 30 days or so.

As far as I know they still don't have access to Rosses private keys
I can't find a news report from 2014 that mentions them having the access to it just the course case documents from the related links
http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2014/02/07/alleged-silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-pleads-not-guilty-on-all-charges/
http://www.wptv.com/news/science-tech/ross-ulbricht-wants-his-seized-bitcoins-back-suspected-of-selling-illegal-drugs-online

hopefully they are lost 

[Finchy]

They must have access to at least some of Ross's coins or why would he be suing them to try get them back?

[yatsey87]

So what's everyone going to do?

Can see this going one of 2 ways:

(1) The 174K BTC are auctioned off at a discount and combined with the flood of injecting 1% into the market causes BTC to drop

or

(2) The 174K BTC are auctioned off at higher than $600 per coin - it's not easy to obtain chunks of BTC of that size (i.e. VC's or companies with long-term plans for BTC) and BTC continues to rise


Or everyone sits tight and waits while nothing happens.

It all really depends on what price they get bought for. I'm hoping whoever buys them plans to hold them as an investment though. Trying to sell them all at  once will be silly.

[nwfella]

Bitcoin currently at $556 on BitStamp.  Another 14 days of pain...this really sucks!

Sadly I think things might get alot worse before they start to get better.

[kjlimo]

They must have access to at least some of Ross's coins or why would he be suing them to try get them back?

I'm guessing they are still trying to make many cases that even the auctioned bitcooins should be returned... might as well try?  Probably what the lawyers said...

[LiteCoinGuy]

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/is-the-government-sanctioning-bitcoin-with-auction-fHjpuE_uQcqc9K88fQaR6g.html

[freedomno1]

They must have access to at least some of Ross's coins or why would he be suing them to try get them back?

I think the lawsuit is to get back the Silk Road Bitcoins and to keep his own Bitcoins not him suing to get his own Bitcoins back from them
Or in other words what Kjlimo said

http://www.bloomberg.com/video/is-the-government-sanctioning-bitcoin-with-auction-fHjpuE_uQcqc9K88fQaR6g.html

If money can be made by confiscating then why not in the FBI's opinion it funds the government
They won't sell the Weed but they will sell the Ferrari Bentley Motorcycle good old cool stuff in New Jersey

[erono]

Yeah I think buying more at the auction is it easier than coming up with capital to play with at bitstamp.

[oli123123]

Bitcoin currently at $556 on BitStamp.  Another 14 days of pain...this really sucks!

Sadly I think things might get alot worse before they start to get better.

It's still $556, damn man...

[freedomno1]

Bitcoin currently at $556 on BitStamp.  Another 14 days of pain...this really sucks!

Sadly I think things might get alot worse before they start to get better.

It's still $556, damn man...

Best get used to it till that auction is settled at least the price may keep low
On the bright side I guess there is a second chance for investors to get more Bitcoins at a deal if the price drops a bit further

[bryant.coleman]

I have a feeling that someone (maybe GHash or the Bitstamp guys, or maybe some unknown player) is manipulating the Bitcoin exchange rates, in order to buy Bitcoins cheaply from the FBI.

[notthematrix]

I have a feeling that someone (maybe GHash or the Bitstamp guys, or maybe some unknown player) is manipulating the Bitcoin exchange rates, in order to buy Bitcoins cheaply from the FBI.

Simply to manny exchanges to control ,
Wondering why , karma is a bitch.
You cant control an organic decentralized market , and how they feel about the FBI / CIA / NSA
for example in china and outside the US.