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US: regulators to auction USD 17.4 million in Bitcoin from Silk Road

Friday 13 June 2014 09:37 CET | News

The US authorities will put to auction around USD 17.4 million worth in Bitcoins which were confiscated from the illegally active online black market company Silk Road, according to the currency convertor website, Preev.com, cnn.com reports.

Silk Road served nearly 1 million customers and it was shut down by the FBI in October 2013 when it confiscated around 30,000 Bitcoins.

Agents also arrested Ross William Ulbricht, who is supposed to have owned and managed the site using the monicker Dread Pirate Roberts. Both confiscated the Bitcoins he held, and charged him with narcotics trafficking, computer hacking and money laundering charges, according to the government.

Federal Marshals said the Bitcoins will be auctioned in blocks of about 3,000 Bitcoins, which are worth USD 1.8 million each, according to the Marshals and the conversion website Preev, the same source cites.


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Keywords: US, Silk Road, Bitcoin, auction, crypto-currency, digital currency, black market, confiscation
Categories: Payments & Commerce
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