UK police raised £300,000 ($369,000) through the auction of criminally-seized Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency this week, achieving over market value.
The sales, a first for UK police, occurred across two unreserved auctions that were finalized on September 26 via Irish firm Wilsons Auctions.
In total, 62 lots of cryptocurrency were sold, which included Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Bitcoin Satoshi Vision.
Data shared with Hard Fork reports Wilsons Auctions fielded 7,500 bids from across the world, including Brazil, Australia, Dubai, Canada, Singapore, and the USA.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
On average, 1 BTC sold for £6,798.80 ($8,365), 0.5 BTC for £3,443.68 ($4,236), and 0.25 BTC for £1,972.74 ($2,426). The current price of Bitcoin is £6,512 ($8,012).
Unfortunately, data for the other cryptocurrencies sold was unavailable at the time, but we’ll update this piece with more information as it’s shared.
Wilsons Auctions also originally reported that £500,000 ($662,000) worth of cryptocurrency was to be put up for auction, which we’ve sought to clarify.
“Despite one of the most significant market dips in recent months during the auctions, the results from these auctions indicate that we are exceeding market value by breaking the cryptocurrency down to smaller Lots […],” said Wilsons Auctions’ asset recovery director Aidan Larkin.
This criminal’s cryptocurrency is to be spread across the world
UK police reportedly seized the cryptocurrency stash from 20-year-old Norwich man Elliot Gunton. The self-described “full-time crypto trader” was recently found guilty of supplying stolen personal data and hacking services in exchange for cryptocurrency.
He’s been sentenced to 20 months in prison, and ordered to repay £400,000 ($491,000).
Gunton is known for taking part in 2018’s TalkTalk hack, which saw bank details of 4,500 users leaked online. The incident is reported to have cost the company more than £77 million ($94.5 million).
As well, US authorities recently indicted Gunton for allegedly hacking cryptocurrency exchange EtherDelta in 2017. This event involved changing the site’s DNS settings to redirect users to a clone, which was used to steal login credentials and ultimately, user funds.
So, while the past is still catching up with Gunton, the proceeds of his crimes will now be redistributed around the world. You can read more about Gunton’s arrest here.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.