Bitcoin Exchange itBit Wins 10,000 BTC in US Government Auction

New York-based bitcoin exchange itBit has revealed it successfully secured five auction blocks as part of last week's bitcoin auction overseen by the US Marshals Service (USMS).

The event saw the government agency oversee the sale of 44,000 BTC (valued at $16.6m at press time) on the open market, with each auction block consisting of 2,000 BTC or more.

Bobby Cho, Director of Trading at itBit, told CoinDesk:

The exchange had originally declined to comment on its involvement in the auction, which drew a total of 11 bidders. Still, the announcement marks the second time itBit has secured bitcoins as part of a USMS auction, following its purchase of 3,000 BTC at an auction in March.

The USMS told CoinDesk today that the earliest participants in last week’s public auction could announce they successfully or unsuccessfully secured bitcoins as part of the sale would be tomorrow, stating that undisclosed events had caused transactions to be delayed.

However, at press time, details were emerging about the auction, the fourth in a series that has seen the sale of roughly 175,000 BTC confiscated during the investigation into online black market Silk Road.

Digital Currency Group subsidiary Genesis Trading, for example, informed CoinDesk that it did not successfully secure any bitcoins as part of the sale. Binary Financial, another publicly identified participant, did not respond to requests for further information as of press time.

In the meantime, Reddit users have already begun to speculate as to the results, with evidence emerging that as many as three participants successfully purchased bitcoins as part of the sale.

Auction image via Shutterstock