Major United Kingdom and Ireland-based auction house Wilsons Auctions is putting $125,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) under the hammer later this month.
In an announcement on March 6, Wilsons revealed the auction will be hosted by Wilsons Auctions Dublin on March 24.
The Bitcoin is being sold on behalf of the Belgian Federal government, which seized the cryptocurrency in criminal cases and is now cooperating with Wilsons’ Asset Recovery Department to dispose of the Bitcoin.
The auction will be unreserved, i.e. without a minimum price set for the winning bid.
First public online auction in Ireland
While Wilsons has previously sold off cryptocurrency in other auction formats, this month’s sale represents the first public online auction of crypto in Ireland.
Mark Woods, an asset recovery executive at Wilsons, said of the auction:
“The format has proven popular with our customers, who are able to bid online and purchase cryptocurrency from an established and trusted auction house instead of utilizing online exchanges, which can be a risky and daunting process.”
He added that Wilsons offers guidance to cryptocurrency novices, with the aim of enabling all investors to “participate on a level playing field.”
Woods struck a positive tone about the auction house’s recent collaborations with international experts, law enforcement and government agencies in the cryptocurrency field, noting that the strategy allows the auction house to remain “at the forefront” of developments.
1-2-3 sold!
Wilsons has revealed that bidders from over 90 countries world-wide participated in its auction involving crypto-assets seized by the Belgian government earlier this year.
The auction house also held a Monero (XMR) auction in January, selling off XMR seized by United Kingdom law enforcement, as well as multi-crypto asset auctions in fall of last year.
As reported, auctions have become a common means for governments and law enforcement agencies to dispose of seized crypto, as with the United States’ use of the format for assets from the Silk Road darknet marketplace.
