‘Fall for Cryptocurrency’: US Government Is Auctioning Bitcoin Tokens Amounting to Over $300,000

While this US government auction is expected to sell Bitcoins at discounted prices, people are concerned about the data privacy of buyers.

By Radhika Parashar | Updated: 27 October 2021 19:26 IST

‘Fall for Cryptocurrency’: US Government Is Auctioning Bitcoin Tokens Amounting to Over $300,000

Bitcoin is the most valued cryptocurrency in the world

Highlights

US government is auctioning close to 5 Bitcoin tokens
The value of these tokens is around $300,000
The auction will conclude on October 28

US government-backed GSA Auctions is currently hosting an online Bitcoin auction called the “Fall for Cryptocurrency”. In this event, the federal US government is auctioning 4.94 Bitcoin tokens amounting to over $300,000 as per Bitcoin's current trading price of $63,925 (roughly Rs. 48 lakh) per token. GSA Auctions is a service of US' General Service Administration (GSA) that is responsible for clearing surplus assets held federally. This online auction began on Tuesday, September 26 and will conclude on Thursday, October 28.

GSA Auctions posted details about the event on their region-focussed Twitter handles.

Fall for Cryptocurrency with #GSAAuctions! 5 lots of Bitcoin will open for online bidding October 26-28th at https://t.co/YCnBYVUVZZ #SEGLPPM #crypto pic.twitter.com/3i5eQ5fyl6
— GSA SoutheastSunbelt (@US_GSAR4) October 22, 2021

GSA usually sells off Bitcoin tokens at discounted prices. In April, for instance, GSA Auctions sold nearly 10 Bitcoin tokens worth $520,000 (roughly Rs. 4 crore) at the time for six percent lower the price, which was $487,000 (roughly Rs. 3.6 crore), as per a report by Bitcoin Magazine.

The news about the latest event, however, has triggered privacy concerns among Bitcoin enthusiasts in the US, some of whom have expressed themselves on Twitter.

Bitcoin, Ether Price Dip Marginally as Shiba Inu Jumps 15 Percent

Nearly 5 #BTC worth over $300k to be auctioned in 5 different lots in an online auction event ‘Fall for Cryptocurrency' hosted by US Govt. between October 26 and 28, 2021. Privacy seems to be the real cost of such a purchase at more than 6% below market price.
— #Hawk (@___Hawk____) October 27, 2021

The report by Bitcoin Magazine also notes that for a marginal discount, buyers are trading their personal information with the US government in terms of an invasive Know-Your-Customer (KYC) protocol.

Regardless, these Bitcoin tokens will be auctioned amid the growing craze around cryptocurrencies in the US and in many other parts of the world.

For instance, former US presidential candidate Andrew Yang recently launched a new political initiative, rooting for the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the country.

Last week, American retail giant Walmart announced the installation of 200 Bitcoin ATMs in its select store branches located across the US.

The US for now, much like other countries including India and Pakistan, lacks a solid foundation to regulate and benefit from decentralised cryptocurrencies.

The crypto market is meanwhile witnessing a rapid expansion worldwide.

This month, the market capitalisation of all the cryptocurrencies put together crossed a milestone of $2.5 trillion (roughly Rs. 1,87,42,625 crore) according to cryptocurrency tracker CoinMarketCap.

Interested in cryptocurrency? We discuss all things crypto with WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty and WeekendInvesting founder Alok Jain on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Further reading: auction, bitcoin, cryptocurrency, US

Radhika Parashar

Email Radhika

Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More