US Marshals Office Auctions Off Another $18.7M in Bitcoin

The U.S. Marshals Office successfully sold 2,170.7 bitcoins to two bidders in its most recent auction on March 9, a spokesperson announced Thursday.

In a press statement, the spokesperson said that the bitcoins had been distributed to the winning bidders, one of whom received 2,100 and the other who bought the remaining 70.7.

It is unclear whether the bitcoins were bought at market prices, but at press time the combined total value of the bitcoins was roughly $18.7 million.

Forty-two bidders registered for the auction, and 39 bids were received, the spokesperson said.

The auction was announced on March 5, when the Marshals stated the coins would be sold in 14 different blocks (as in "lots," not the cryptocurrency meaning of the word).

The smallest auction block contained roughly 70 bitcoins, while the other 13 blocks contained either 100 or 500 bitcoins.

The Marshals last sold bitcoins in February 2018, when more than 3,600 bitcoins were auctioned to five winning bidders. At the time, Riot Blockchain claimed it had bought one of the blocks of 500 bitcoins.

This time, the winners from the March 19 auction have so far not identified themselves.

Stepping back, this is the second bitcoin auction the Marshals have participated in since 2016, when they sold 2,700 bitcoins.