The Victorian Government is set to bank $25 million in real money from a coming sale of bitcoins confiscated as the proceeds of crime. The bitcoins involved were worth only about $500,000 when they were seized.
Victoria’s Department of Justice and Regulation is selling 24,518 bitcoins which are being offered by Ernst & Young in a 48-hour sealed bid auction, that began yesterday.
It’s said to be first bitcoin sale process of its kind in Australia, and only the second instance globally.
(The first US sale involved the trade of about 144,000 bitcoins seized the bitcoins from Ross William Ulbricht (aka “Dread Pirate Roberts”) who ran massive Silk Road online drug marketplace)
When the bitcoins were seized from a Melbourne drug dealer in December 2012, the digital currency was trading at about US$13.70 apiece.
The recent spike in the value of bitcoins now has them valued at $1024 each.
