You may recall back in 2013 the US Justice Department closed down Silk Road probably best known as an online drug market, and whilst doing so they managed to seize a whopping 144,226 Bitcoin, which was quite an achievement from a financial point of view.
However, they held a series of auctions of those Bitcoin between 2014 and 2015 which at the time brought in a total of just over $48 million. However, the creator of Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, decided to instigate a legal challenge in regards to the legitimacy of the US Justice Department in keeping the proceeds of those Bitcoin.
He did however drop the case last week, and as such the proceeds of those auctions are now still in the hands of the US Government to use as they see fit.
But, at the time of the auction the average price they obtained for each Bitcoin was a rather dismal $334, and as the current price is $4,400 per Bitcoin, that does of course mean they could have made much more cash hand they hung onto them and sold them today.
The sale reminds me of when the onetime Chancellor of the Exchequer across the pond in the UK, one Gordon Brown, sold of a huge holding of UK gold, which due to the fact he announced the sale in advance, that caused the gold prices to drop to an all time low and the UK Government didn’t get anywhere near as much as they would have done if they had hung onto the gold, and sold it in much smaller batches.
The fact that buying and selling Bitcoin is anonymous does appeal to a lot of people and there are many people who are now buying Bitcoin and simply holding onto it for investment purposes.
If you are considering doing so yourself then keep in mind it is one of the more volatile of cryptocurrencies, as you will see if you do some research in regards to its price over the last few years.
However, many commentators are convinced the price of Bitcoin is, whilst going to always be volatile, going to continue on its upward curve and will soon start to break new records in regards to its price.
Whilst one upon a time many people suspected that Bitcoin would be the currency of choice for criminals and those wishing to hide their ill-gotten gains yet still have access to them and also have the ability of moving them around online, nowadays it is beginning to become a respected currency of choice for those looking to buy or sell all manner of goods legally online.
Plus, many people do of course use their Bitcoin Wallets and Bitcoin holding as their own personal bankroll as they can very easily move it into and out of many different gambling sites too.