Around 30,000 Bitcoins seized from the now defunct black market were auctioned this week by the US Marshals Service. They have revealed that there were 45 registered bidders, each of whom put down a deposit of $200,000. 63 bids were received during the blind auction. As a result, no winning bidder has come forward, and the US Marshals Service never released any details about who won or about the price they paid for 30,000 Bitcoins.

8 months ago, the government of the United States seized the Bitcoins when it arrested San Franciscan Ross Ulbricht, 30 years old now, and charged him with operating the Silk Road, the largest online darknet market.

It is known that one of the bidders was Bitcoin-based consumer finance startup named Circle. The company’s CEO said that the mere fact of the auction was likely to be a boon for the cryptocurrency. He believes that it was a very legitimizing activity. Indeed, the community admits that the very fact that the federal government of the US says that Bitcoin is a legal asset that should be liquidated like other financial assets is a big deal already.

Circle added that as for a company with a treasury and a set of reserves in Bitcoin, they saw auction as an opportunity to acquire a meaningful chunk of cryptocurrency, potentially at a discount to spot prices, without affecting its price. If the company were to go out to Bitcoin exchange and trade for a whole bunch, this would have moved its price upward. So the auction was a good opportunity for the company.

Although no winners have thus far come forward, some bidders have revealed their failure. For example, the Bitcoin luxury marketplace called BitPremier estimated that $20m worth of bids went unsatisfied, and those bidders may now try luck on the open market. After the auction closed, the Bitcoin rate increased from $570 to $651 – so the predictions may come true.

It is also known that some bidders entered the auction in syndicates. For instance, investment firm SecondMarket received 186 bids from 42 bidders, but failed to secure any coins – the same was told by Pantera Bitcoin’s syndicate.

However, some have questioned whether the reports from the bidders can be trusted. The problem is that the individuals and companies reporting on failed bids might have an interest in proclaiming that.