back to article Uncle Sam set to flog Silk Road's Bitcoins

The US Marshals have set the date for an auction of Bitcoins seized in the takedown of the Silk Road market and its aftermath. The Marshal Service says it will be auctioning off a block of 2,719.32669068 units of the cryptocurrency on August 22. The estimated worth of the Bitcoins is $1.6m. Among the coins to be auctioned are …

  1. Youngone Silver badge
    Black Helicopters

    Odd

    I find it a little odd that Ross Ulbricht gets life for selling drugs, (the other charges seem to stem from that fact), and the corrupt government official who sought to profit from Silk Road's crimes gets only 6.5 years.

    I am aware that Ulbricht has been charged with soliciting murder, but he is not being sentenced for that in this case.

    1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

      Re: Odd

      Ulbricht got life because he was convicted of multiple serious crimes (among them narcotics trafficking, money laundering and continuing criminal enterprise) with a combined minimum sentence of 30 years, and I believe a maximum above 100.

      The way he refused to accept responsibility for any of it probably didn't help him when it came to sentencing. I did find it a little strange that the sentencing took into account the attempts to procure murder though.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Odd

      Ulbricht got life because he was not of the establishment.

      People rising from the bottom to the top has got to stop.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    My bid

    One Susan B Anthony dollar, three bottle caps and a piece of string (of unknown length)

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    government and maths again ! (Yes, its plural, i am in the UK)

    Bitcoins are not considered currency in the US, as shown in the recent case where some cops bought bitcoins and claimed they were going to buy stolen credit cards with them, then tried to fit up the seller on money laundering charges.

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/07/26/ponzi_bitcoin_case_kaput/

    The judge said bitcoins were goods. This is the line of thought for an auction.

    However, there is an exchange rate for bitcoins, so an auction is relatively pointless as whoever bids 1c less than the current exchange rate will win. Anyone who bids over the current exchange rate, can't count and anyone who expects to get some kind of good deal has the time and money to waste speculating.

    1. Jon 37

      Re: government and maths again ! (Yes, its plural, i am in the UK)

      Exchange rates change, and trying to buy or sell a large quantity will move the exchange rate. Trying to sell $1.6m of Bitcoins on the normal open market is likely to flood the market and push the exchange rate down a lot.

      So the exchange rate is really only valid for small transactions. For a large transaction, an auction is better.

      1. Danny 14

        Re: government and maths again ! (Yes, its plural, i am in the UK)

        no different from buying a crate of old cars. Those cars might be worth something one day or might not; might sell now as an "en vogue" or might not.

        Pay what you want for the bitcoins now - you can certainly attempt to trade now at market value or sit on them and wait.

    2. kmac499

      Re: government and maths again ! (Yes, its plural, i am in the UK)

      "...However, there is an exchange rate for <insert currency name here>..."

      I think the whole idea of betting on curency\value exchange rate changes is the point ot the FOREX trading market. Manipulation of which currently has some of Docklands finest up before the beak in the UK and US.

      Mind you 1.6m ain't really worth getting out of bed for the 'professional' traders.

    3. Pascal Monett Silver badge

      Re: Bitcoins are not considered currency in the US

      A Federal judge has decided that it is now.

      Interesting to see this go through after that decision.

      1. Lennart Sorensen

        Re: Bitcoins are not considered currency in the US

        That was 3 years ago.

        This was this year: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/07/26/ponzi_bitcoin_case_kaput/

        It says bitcoin are goods, not money.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The Waiting Game

    could the feds have 'laced' the Bitcoins with tracking software?

    1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge

      Re: The Waiting Game

      A "bitcoin" is effectively just a number in the memory of a computer with a synchronised local copy of the blockchain, so I don't believe that's possible.

      The blockchain is public however, so all transactions by a particular address can be watched by anyone.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: The Waiting Game

        thank you

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