Cryptocurrencies seized by Belgian law enforcement from online drug dealers are to be put under the hammer by an Ireland-based auction house.
Wilsons Auctions announced Monday that it has signed an agreement with the federal government of Belgium to hold an auction of the crypto funds with no reserve, including 104.99 each of bitcoin (BTC), bitcoin cash (BCH) and bitcoin gold (BTG).
The total market value of the cryptocurrencies is around $431,660 at the time of writing.
“The bitcoins were seized by the Belgium police as a result of a drug trafficking case in which the criminals used the DarkNet to sell drugs,” Wilsons Auctions said.
The international auction will start at 12 noon (GMT) on March 1, with the cryptocurrencies divided into lots, the release states. The bitcoin will be sold in 0.5–4 BTC lots, while the BCH and BTG will be offered in larger lots.
This is not the first time Wilsons has held an auction of cryptocurrencies. Last month, it sold off 167.7 monero (XMR) tokens, which had been seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act by a U.K. law enforcement agency.
Aidan Larkin, Wilsons’ head of asset recovery, said at the time that the monero auction received interest from 69 countries and that “following over 700 bids from registered participants, the final value realized was above the market value of monero for that day.”
The U.S. Marshals Service has also previously held several major crypto auctions. Most recently, in October, it announced it would hold an auction to sell off nearly $4.3 million worth of bitcoins the following month.
Bitcoin and gavel image via Shutterstock
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