The U.S. government will auction off a small amount of bitcoin next week 

Though the lot size pales in comparison to past auctions held by the U.S. government, federal officials are set to auction off 0.7501 BTC next week — an amount worth roughly $38,700.

It’s unclear where the government obtained this Bitcoin or why it’s being auctioned through GSA — the government’s auction site usually reserved for office supplies, furniture, and other items like vehicles, scientific equipment, and heavy machinery. Bloomberg first reported on the auction lot's existence. 

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However, what is known is that the starting bid for the Bitcoin is $25,000 and will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, according to the GSA’s auction page. Bidding starts March 15 at 5 p.m. ET and will close 48 hours later.

The successful bidder must fill out a “Forfeited Property Sales Certification Form” attesting that they’re not a Department of Justice employee or the person who forfeited the Bitcoin, as well a “Bitcoin End Use Certificate” requiring the bidder’s name, social security number, Bitcoin wallet address, and other personal information. 

Full payment for the 0.7501 Bitcoin is due March 19 by wire transfer.

About Author

MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020 — joining just before bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for the publication, covering any and all crypto news but with a penchant toward NFT, metaverse, web3 gaming, funding, crime, hack and crypto ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. You can follow MK on X @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.