Tim Draper, Barry Silbert Prove Crime Can Pay
US government auctions of confiscated bitcoins have potentially been very lucrative for at least the smartest guys in the room – venture capitalist Tim Draper and Digital Currency Group’s Barry Silbert.
CNBC reports that auctions for confiscated bitcoins seized from people conducting illegal operations could result in a net profit of more than $50 million for Draper. He was the buyer for 30,000 bitcoins sold at $647 per coin in June of 2013, picking up the tainted haul for $19.4 million.
At a price calculated at roughly $2400 per coin – and presuming Draper didn’t liquidate some or all of the coins at some point – he would have realized a profit of over $50 million.
Not to be outdone, a December, 2014 government auction of 48,000 bitcoins were sold at a value of $18.1 million, or $378 per coin. The buyer was Silbert’s SecondMarkets exchange, and the coins would be worth more than $115 million today if the exchange held onto them. That’s a profit of $97 million at today’s prices, again presuming that the coins were retained.
