Fall for Cryptocurrency was an online bitcoin-based auction event that was recently hosted by the US government from September 26 – October 28. It saw 4.94 BTC auctioned at the trading price of $63,925, which were worth more than $300,000. GSA Auctions is responsible for the clearance of federally-held surplus assets. It’s a part of the US government’s General Service Administration (GSA)
The last such auction hosted by the GSA was in April, when GSA Auctions sold $520,000 in Bitcoin (10 tokens). However, GSA Auctions offered a six percent discount to buyers. So, the 10 BTC tokens were sold for $487,000.
However, the discounts come at a price according to critics, who suggest that the real motive of the US government is to collect buyers’ personal information. The criticism comes due to the fact that buyers have to submit their details in compliance with KYC protocol.
These auctions come at a time when the USA along with several other countries around the world are trying to put certain regulatory measures into place for the cryptocurrency market. As of now, cryptocurrencies are decentralized, which makes it next to impossible to track transactions, which happen at a very quick pace.
The argument is that if cryptocurrencies continue to function in an unregulated manner, they may be used by criminals for illicit money trafficking purposes. There’s only one country in the world that has legalized Bitcoin – El Salvador. However, only time will tell what steps the US government takes to regulate the crypto market.
