U.S. Marshals to Auction 50,000 Bitcoins Seized During Investigation of Silk Road Operator

DOJ Virtual Currency SDNY

On February 18, the U.S. Marshals Service announced that it will auction 50,000 bitcoins seized from wallet files found on computer hardware belonging to Ross Ulbricht, who was recently convicted in connection with his operation and ownership of Silk Road, a website that functioned as a criminal marketplace for illegal goods and services. The auction is scheduled for March 5. On February 4, a federal jury in the Southern District of New York found Ulbricht guilty on seven federal charges. In the court’s January 27, 2014 Stipulation and Order for Interlocutory Sale of Bitcoins, the Federal Government and Ulbricht agreed that “the Computer Hardware Bitcoins [were] to be liquidated or sold by the Government…”