Monero tokens seized by law enforcement agencies auctioned-off

The auction took place on January 7, 2019

Wilsons Auctions hopes to do organize more crypto auctions this year

According to a report by Oracle Times, published on January 8, 2019, Monero (XMR) tokens were sold during a live cryptocurrency online auction organized by Wilsons Auctions. Notably, the XMR tokens were previously seized by the British law enforcement agencies.

167.7 XMR Tokens Auctioned-off

Per sources close to the matter, Wilsons Auctions is one of Northern Ireland’s largest independent auction companies. The firm organized a public sell-off of Monero (XMR) tokens on January 7, 2019, which saw 167.7 XMR coins sold to interested parties.

The bids for the sell-off were placed online. The participating bidders had the option to compare the demanded price with the current market price of each of the crypto tokens lots and accordingly place their bid price.

In fact, this is not the first instance that Wilsons Auctions have organized such sell-off of cryptocurrencies. The company has, in past, organized several crypto auctions of digital assets seized by law forces in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

The company claims to have incurred huge costs in cash to safely and securely store the seized crypto-assets.

Aidan Larkin, Wilsons Auctions’ head of Asset Recovery stated:

“It is a very exciting time for Wilsons Auctions, having recently secured significant tender wins with Staffordshire Police, West Mercia Police and HMRC as well as being awarded at the TRI Awards, we are now launching into 2019 with our first timed-online cryptocurrency auction.”

He added that the auction company is currently working with more than 40 government and law enforcement agencies both nationally and internationally, and is excited to foray into the nascent asset class of cryptocurrencies.

Wilsons Auctions Looks for a Busy 2019

2019 can see more such cryptocurrency public sell-offs. Wilsons Auctions recently secured a license from the Belgian government which allows them to auction cryptocurrencies seized in lawful operations conducted by the country’s legal authorities.

It’s also worth pointing out that the firm did not reveal to the public the type of wallet it is using to store the seized crypto-assets.

Privacy-focused cryptocurrencies have piqued the interest of government authorities the world over. Cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Zcash give the veil of anonymity to the users, which, according to law bodies, can be misused for illicit activities.