The U.S. Marshals Service will auction off 3,813 Bitcoins (Bitcoin) (worth about $54 million at current prices) seized in connection with federal, civic and administrative cases, Bloomberg reported.
The Marshals Service explained: “The auction will take place during a six-hour period Jan. 22 from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. EST. Bids will be accepted by email from preregistered bidders only. The 3,813 Bitcoins are offered for sale in 11 blocks: five blocks of 500 Bitcoins, five blocks of 100 Bitcoins and one block of approximately 813 Bitcoins.”
Participants are required to make a deposit of $200,000, the agency said in a statement Thursday. The bid must be an all cash offer. Bids that are contingent on financing terms of any kind will not be considered.
All bids must be made in U.S. dollars. The Bitcoin transfer process will begin immediately following receipt of purchase funds.
The service previously held several auctions. Back in 2014, venture capitalist Tim Draper was the sole winner of about 30,000 bitcoins auctioned. SecondMarket, now part of Nasdaq, won a large swath of Bitcoin in a previous auction as well.