Winner of Silk Road Bitcoin Auction Reveals His Identity

Last year, the government shut down the Silk Road, an online drug market, and seized 29,656 Bitcoins in the process. The Bitcoins went up for auction on June 27, and while one winner was determined and notified later that day, their identity was not revealed to the public. Many participants in the auction came forward to admit they did not win, but now the winner has come forward, using an appropriate forum for a e-currency specialist: a Medium post.

The winner was Tim Draper, a successful venture capitalist who invested in Skype, Hotmail, Tesla, Baidu, Theranos, Athenahealth, Solar City, and Box. He partnered with Vaurum, a Bitcoin exchange, for the auction. 

Draper gave this statement explaining his motives:

Bitcoin frees people from trying to operate in a modern market economy with weak currencies. With the help of Vaurum and this newly purchased bitcoin, we expect to be able to create new services that can provide liquidity and confidence to markets that have been hamstrung by weak currencies.

Of course, no one is totally secure in holding their own country’s currency. We want to enable people to hold and trade bitcoin to secure themselves against weakening currencies.”

Vaurum plans to use almost 30,000 Bitcoin won as a liquidity source. While they did announce their win, neither Draper nor Vaurum have disclosed the final selling price. 

(Image via vonDUCK/Shutterstock.com)