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US Marshals Auctioning $20M Worth of Silk Road's Bitcoins

Posted by Soulskill on from the all-about-the-bitjamins dept.

coondoggie writes: The U.S. Marshals office says it will auction off almost 50,000 bitcoins (about $20 million worth) seized from alleged Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht. The auction, which is the second sale of Silk Road's bitcoin collection, will take place during a 6-hour period on Dec. 4 from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. EST. Bids will be accepted by email from pre-registered bidders only, the U.S. Marshals office said. In June more than $17 million in bitcoins seized from the Silk Road take-down were auctioned off.

10 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. I wish they would just auction off the drugs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Do you know how hard it is to find quality MDMA?

    It's fucking impossible. Unless you want shitty speed you need a really good connection, which I sadly can't find.

  2. Payment methods by dysmal · · Score: 5, Funny

    Will they accept bitcoins?

  3. But the case hasn't even started! by Chaos+Incarnate · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So, his trial hasn't even started yet, but they're already auctioning off what they seized as part of the investigation.

    There's sleazy, and then there's the U.S. Marshals.

    --
    Benford's Corollary to Clarke's Law: "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
    1. Re:But the case hasn't even started! by i+kan+reed · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Bitcoins were deemed to be regulated as currency, and thus the remuneration the US government might owe the defendants can be delivered in US dollars, should the property not be found to be forfeit.

    2. Re:But the case hasn't even started! by i+kan+reed · · Score: 4, Informative

      If it were a debt you owed, they'd be legally obligated to take it. If payment is a condition of keeping your space, it's not.

      Once they evict you, and send you a bill for past-due rent, they have to take cash.

    3. Re:But the case hasn't even started! by dywolf · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The trial against the bitcoins, US Government VS 50,000 Bitcoins, was decided already.

      The bitcoins failed to hire a lawyer in their defense, and it's not like they couldn't afford one so there was no need to provide one for them.

      Ah...the joys of civil forfeiture.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
  4. Another word for robbery by canadiannomad · · Score: 5, Informative

    Civil Asset Forfeiture

    --
    Hmm, the humour and sarcasm seem to have been be lost on you.
  5. Re:What a moron! by KiloByte · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He had 20 mil worth of Bitcoins? He should have sold them all himself and then fled the country.

    Unlike the US marshals, Dread Pirate Roberts has a sense of decency.

    --
    The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
  6. But the case hasn't even started! by slashdice · · Score: 5, Informative

    They're being auctioned off, with agreement from Ross Ulbricht, due to the volatility of BTC. There will be a separate civil forfeiture trial later.

    --
    Copyright (c) 1990 - 2014 Dice. All rights reserved. Use of this comment is subject to certain Terms and Conditions.
  7. Re:What a moron! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No, people using his website had 20 mil in btc. Unlike the feds, DPR did not steal anyone's coins to enrich himself.

    The feds robbed the users of this popular eCommerce site, and pointed to archaic prohibition laws as a justification for their theft. The US government has been at war with its own citizens for far too long, and needs to be stripped of its power to harm peaceful people.