Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The U.S. government plans to unload nearly 30,000 bitcoins – valued at $17.3 million – during an auction later this month after seizing the currency as part of an FBI crackdown last year on an illicit online marketplace for drugs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Some of the bitcoins seized from Silk Road will be auctioned off over a 12-hour period on June 27. Bids can be placed on the U.S. Marshals website.
The Journal reports that the sale of so many bit coins could devalue the digital currency.
The value of bitcoins have fluctuated wildly after reaching an all-time high of $1,166 in December. The value hit a low of $344.24 on April 11 and has bounced back to $583, the Journal wrote.
Ross Ulbricht, the alleged administrator of Silk Road, was arrested in October by the FBI. He faces trial on Nov. 2.
