Share this article
Bitcoin Exchange itBit Wins 10,000 BTC in US Government Auction
Bitcoin exchange itBit has emerged as the first of what could be as many as three winners in last week's US government bitcoin auction.
By Pete Rizzo
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 2:00 p.m. Published Nov 9, 2015, 9:51 p.m.
New York-based bitcoin exchange itBit has revealed it successfully secured five auction blocks as part of last week's bitcoin auction overseen by the US Marshals Service (USMS).
The event saw the government agency oversee the sale of 44,000 BTC (valued at $16.6m at press time) on the open market, with each auction block consisting of 2,000 BTC or more.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Bobby Cho, Director of Trading at itBit, told CoinDesk:
"We confirm that itBit's auction bid, organized on behalf of a syndicate of our exchange and OTC trading clients, won five blocks in the final USMS auction."
The exchange had originally declined to comment on its involvement in the auction, which drew a total of 11 bidders. Still, the announcement marks the second time itBit has secured bitcoins as part of a USMS auction, following its purchase of 3,000 BTC at an auction in March.
The USMS told CoinDesk today that the earliest participants in last week’s public auction could announce they successfully or unsuccessfully secured bitcoins as part of the sale would be tomorrow, stating that undisclosed events had caused transactions to be delayed.
However, at press time, details were emerging about the auction, the fourth in a series that has seen the sale of roughly 175,000 BTC confiscated during the investigation into online black market Silk Road.
Digital Currency Group subsidiary Genesis Trading, for example, informed CoinDesk that it did not successfully secure any bitcoins as part of the sale. Binary Financial, another publicly identified participant, did not respond to requests for further information as of press time.
In the meantime, Reddit users have already begun to speculate as to the results, with evidence emerging that as many as three participants successfully purchased bitcoins as part of the sale.
Auction image via Shutterstock
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Japan’s Higher Rates Puts Bitcoin in the Crosshairs of a Yen Carry Unwind
A stronger yen typically coincides with de-risking across macro portfolios, and that dynamic could tighten liquidity conditions that recently helped bitcoin rebound from November’s lows.
What to know:
- The Bank of Japan is expected to raise interest rates to 0.75% at its December meeting, the highest since 1995, affecting global markets including cryptocurrencies.
- A stronger yen could lead to de-risking in macro portfolios, impacting liquidity conditions that have supported bitcoin's recent recovery.
- Governor Kazuo Ueda indicated a high probability of a rate hike, with officials prepared for further tightening if their economic outlook supports it.
Top Stories
