There is no denying that part of the reason why regulators aimed towards the crypto market this year is due to the role of cryptocurrencies in crime. Different countries are worried that cryptocurrencies being a grey in area in most countries, can be used in illegal operations ranging from money laundering and tax evasion. For this reason, slowly, regulators are getting a grip in the crypto industry.
In fact, there are countries that decided to stop crypto-related activities completely. China is an example of such closing crypto exchanges and even banned malls as well as hotels from hosting crypto events.
Bitcoin Auction
If you have plans of expanding your Bitcoin portfolio, then maybe you’d want to mark your calendar as US Marshals agency announced that it plans to auction $4.3 million worth of Bitcoin on November 2018. The US Marshals Service is a law enforcement agency that was established in 1789. It is an agency that is within the US Department of Justice with a role to enforce federal court decisions.
The bid will include 660 bitcoins that were seized from federal criminals. These include both administrative and civil cases over the years. Some of the bitcoins came from convicts such as Thomas Mario Costanzo and Theresa Tetley. They were both sentenced for money laundering charges in 2018.
At that time, the agency was able to get 80 bitcoins from Costanzo while 49 bitcoins were sized from Tetley. However, the agency didn’t comment how much of the assets that were seized are going to be sold next month during the auction.
How to Participate in the Auction?
If you are interested in bidding, you need to register with the agency on or before the end of the month. Also, the registration will require that you deposit $200,000, fill up the Bidder Registration Form, and provide a copy of a government issued ID.
This isn’t the first Bitcoin auction launched by the US Marshals this year alone. In fact, we can expect that it isn’t going to be the last as well. In January 2018, the agency was able to sell around 3,600 BTC. It followed up with 2,170 BTC sold in March.
What makes the November auction stand out is the fact that it is the biggest sale to date since 2013 when the Silk Road was shut down Ross Ulbricht was sentenced to life imprisonment. The agency was able to seize 144,341 BTC from Ulbricht while around 29,656 were from Silk Road’s servers. These bitcoins then were sold for around $48 million.
Criminals getting involved in cryptocurrencies have given the industry a bad name. However, slowly, regulators are seeing the value of cryptocurrencies. There are institutional investors that are now slowly heading towards the crypto market. For instance, you have Bakkt that is expected next month.
Also, you have Fidelity that has decided to build a new company that plans to cater to institutional investors.
With banks partnering with Ripple, willing to test their product, it is apparent that the crypto industry is not only for illegal activities. It also has benefits that society can benefit from.
