JorgeStolfi
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June 20, 2014, 01:56:31 AM

what is the going market rate for bitcoins which are certified by the U.S. government to be free of legal encumbrances?
Freshly mined coins are almost as good, aren't they?  So we may get a clue from the price that miners get in private sales.  Are there any examples known?

(The government may perhaps harass an investor for buying from a certain miner that they don't like, but if the government failed to blacklist that miner beforehand, the investor would have good defense in court.  Like trading with some unfriendly government before trading sanctions are in place -- one cannot get prosecuted for that.)

However, note that the "cleanliness" of those auctioned coins extends only to the acquisition by the winning bidder.  Once the coins are out of government's custody, they are not substantially different from any other coins.  If that bidder is later found to be a criminal, those coins may be seized again, especially if he paid the USMS with revenue from crimes.  If someone else buys some coins from him before this second seizure,  those coins would be no "cleaner" than coins bought from DPR before the SR bust.