Tim Draper, Barry Silbert to bid in coming auction for Ulbricht bitcoins

Venture capitalist Tim Draper plans on bidding in the US Marshals Service’s (USMS) upcoming auction of 50,000 bitcoins seized from accused Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht. Draper was the sole winner of the 29,656 bitcoins auctioned off by USMS in the summer, for which he paid an undisclosed amount.

Draper told Bloomberg:

"I am a big believer in Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term, and I believe it to be one of the most important technologies that have come along in our lifetime. The price is even better than the last auction."

Bitcoin prices have nearly halved in value since the first auction.

Through his investment firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Draper wants to help make Bitcoin accessible to developing economies and use his bitcoins as a source of Liquidity Liquidity The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent The term liquidity refers to the process, speed, and ease of which a given asset or security can be converted into cash. Notably, liquidity surmises a retention in market price, with the most liquid assets representing cash.The most liquid asset of all is cash itself.· In economics, liquidity is defined by how efficiently and quickly an asset can be converted into usable cash without materially affecting its market price. · Nothing is more liquid than cash, while other assets represent Read this Term. He says he's made 17 investments in bitcoin companies thus far and plans on making more.

Barry Silbert, founder of SecondMarket and Bitcoin Trust, has also stated his intentions of participating. He also participated in the first round through an investor syndicate he organized:

1/ Announcement: @BitcoinTrust and our bitcoin trading desk will be forming a syndicate to bid in the US Marshals #bitcoin auction... — Barry Silbert (@barrysilbert) November 18, 2014

The auction is to be held on December 4, with winners notified the next day.