Wilsons Auctions realises £300k for UK police forces through sale of crypto assets

Our recent crypto assets auction generated worldwide media attention, resulting in bidders from as far as Brazil, USA, Australia, and Singapore!

Wilsons Auctions has successfully realised £300,000 on behalf of UK police forces including the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) through the sale of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency across two unreserved auctions on Thursday 26th September.

This was the first instruction by a UK police force for the sale of criminal’s seized bitcoin, the cryptocurrency assets were sold across 62 Lots and included bitcoin, ethereum, ripple and more. Despite one of the most significant market price declines in recent months during the auctions, the crypto assets achieved over the market value.

Capturing the attention of a worldwide audience, the auctions achieved over 7,500 bids and included bidders from as far as Brazil, Australia, Dubai, USA, Canada and Singapore. A single bitcoin achieved an average sale price of £6,798.80, half a bitcoin an average of £3,443.68 and a quarter of bitcoin an average of £1,972.74.

A number of high-value luxury goods, seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act, were also included in the Unreserved Government Auction, resulting in a combined total of £426,000 realised in one day, across both auctions for Wilsons Auctions’ government and law enforcement clients.

Items included Rolex watches, gold and diamond jewellery, Louis Vuitton bags and luggage, Mulberry handbags, Christian Louboutin, Valentino and Balenciaga Sneakers as well as Canada Goose and Moncler coats and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII.

Speaking about the auction, Wilsons Auctions’ Asset Recovery Director Aidan Larkin said: “We are delighted to have marked another first at Wilsons Auctions by carrying out the first auction of bitcoin under the instruction of a UK police force. Following a comprehensive PR and Marketing campaign, the auctions gained interest worldwide, achieving an estimated reach of over 345 million and drove a high frequency of online traffic peaking at 7,000 clicks to our website every second earlier this week.

“Having managed a world-first public auction of bitcoin earlier this year, we are delighted to continue to roll out this new innovative service by successfully managing this auction on behalf of ERSOU. Despite one of the most significant market dips in recent months during the auctions, the results from these auctions indicate that we are exceeding market value by breaking the cryptocurrency down to smaller Lots, we are making it more affordable for bidders, generating a better return.

“Being able to offer this secure solution to our partners worldwide and remove the risks that can be associated with trading with unregulated virtual currency exchanges has been a welcome addition to our award winning auction service as well as giving new and experienced investors the opportunity to buy cryptocurrencies from an insured and trusted auction house, with a proven track record in this field,” he concluded.

Having invested heavily into its infrastructure and systems, Wilsons Auctions is now able to offer government and law enforcement agencies worldwide a secure solution in realising these difficult assets so that the ever-increasing problem of seized cryptocurrencies can be managed by a reputable auction company.

Wilsons Auctions is a leading auction company with over 80 years of experience building skilled knowledge in an extensive variety of assets. The Asset Recovery Department works with 17 countries worldwide realising assets from cryptocurrency to supercars, luxury watches and designer goods and in recent years has realised over £100 million worth of seized assets for government agencies, law enforcement agencies and insolvency practitioners.

For further information on Wilsons Auctions or to keep up to date on any future cryptocurrency auctions follow on Facebook @wilsonsauctionsltd or go to @wilsonsauctions on Twitter and Instagram.