Venture capitalist Draper wins U.S. bitcoin auction

By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss and Sarah McBride NEW YORK (Reuters) - Venture capitalist Tim Draper was the sole winner of an auction last week of 30,000 bitcoins by the U.S. Marshals Service, according to a statement on Wednesday. Draper is partnering with Palo Alto-based Vaurum, which facilitates over-the-counter bitcoin trading, Vaurum Chief Executive Officer Avish Bhama said in a statement. The bitcoins, a virtual currency that is "mined" by computers solving complex algorithms, were seized last year by the Marshal Service in a crackdown on illegal online activity. The U.S. Marshals Service auctioned off 29,655 bitcoin at an estimated worth of about $18 million in an online, sealed-bid auction that drew more than 40 bidders, including a number of well-known players in the crypto-currency.

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