Feds to auction off Silk Road Bitcoins on June 27

The US government will auction $18 million worth of the virtual currency Bitcoin, which was seized by the FBI when it shut down the Silk Road online marketplace in October last year.

Silk Road, which operated on the so-called “dark net”, traded in drugs and other illegal goods.

Payments were made via crypto-currencies, to ensure anonymity.

The Bitcoins were seized during the arrest of Ross Ulbricht, the alleged mastermind behind Silk Road.

Ross Ulbricht, 29, who was known online by the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts, or DPR, is currently awaiting trial.

In a statement, the US Marshals Service, which is conducting the sale, said the 29,656.51306529 Bitcoins up for auction were those that had “resided on Silk Road servers”, but did not include the stash on Ross Ulbricht’s personal computers.

The US authority added that it would “not sell to any person who is acting on behalf of or in concert with the Silk Road and/or Ross William Ulbricht, and bidders will be required to so certify”.

Last year, Carnegie Mellon University estimated that over $1.22 million worth of trading took place on the Silk Road every month.

Prospective bidders will have to put forward a deposit of $200,000, and all offers must be made in cash.

The bidding process will begin on June 27.