UK police to auction bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies worth over $600K

Cryptocurrencies seized by a UK police force from a criminal are to be auctioned by an Ireland-based auction house.

Wilsons Auctions announced last week that the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit has appointed them to manage the auction worth £500,000 (~$621,000) of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and XRP, among others. It is a no-reserve auction, meaning there is no established minimum price for the assets being auctioned.

The Unit seized cryptocurrencies from a criminal who "illegally supplied online personal data and hacking services in exchange for thousands of pounds worth of cryptocurrency,” per the announcement.

The international auction will start at 12 noon (GMT) on Sept. 25, with the cryptocurrencies divided into lots. Bitcoins will be sold in 0.25 to 2 BTC lots, while the other cryptocurrencies will be offered in larger lots.

“A further 15 Lots of bitcoin will be included in the Unreserved Government Auction which will take place at 6 pm GMT on Thursday 26th September and will be available to both online and physical bidders,” Wilsons Auctions said.

This is not the first time the house is managing auction of cryptocurrencies. Earlier this year, it held an auction worth $430,000, involving cryptocurrencies seized by Belgian law authorities. Previously, Wilsons Auctions held an auction of 167.7 monero (XMR) tokens, which had been seized by a U.K. law enforcement agency.