Australia Sells $16M Worth of Bitcoins in Landmark Auction

Had a couple of millions lying around? Australia recently had an offer you might’ve found hard to refuse.

In early June, we reported that the Australian government is planning to auction 24,518 confiscated bitcoins worth about AU$16 million (US$11.49 million) at the time.

Now, Ernst and Young announced it has successfully sold all of the bitcoins, which are now worth around AU$22 million (US$16 million) by current value. The financial services group did not disclose the price paid by the bidders or the number of bidders involved, only noting that the auction attracted interest from “bitcoin exchanges, digital asset investment funds and high net worth individuals.”

Analysts, however, believed that “as many as three to four winners” were awarded during the sale that ended last June 21. Data from blockchain data provider Skry indicated the largest winner claimed seven 2,000 bitcoin blocks during the auction, while the other winners claimed 13,999 bitcoins (US$9.25 million), 6,517 bitcoins (US$4.27 million) and 1,999.99 bitcoins (US$1.31 million), according to a Coin Desk report.