German prosecutors have triggered a stir on the cryptocurrency market as the minimum bid asked for seized bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin) was set at $49,281, Bloomberg reports. According to Germany's law enforcement agencies, 4000 new users were registered on the online auction platform in a matter of a few days. The authorities put up the cryptocurrency in several lots from 0.1 BTC to 10 BTC.
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"Each euro that is extracted form criminal networks helps weakens them," the Justice Ministry said on Twitter.
The Justice Ministry of North-Rhine Westphalia said the whole auction was worth an "8-digit-number" in euro amount. Bitcoin auctions is nothing new on the market. For example, the US Marshals Service sold 600 BTCs through public auction. The total value of the coins put up for auction was worth approximately $4.3 million at that time (~$38 million at current price). All coins have been seized by law enforcement agents during different investigations.
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