Secretive mining firm revealed as possible US Marshals auction winner

Last week's US government auction of confiscated Silk Road bitcoins has left a lingering mystery: who won the two biggest blocks of 27,000 and 20,000 coins?

The winners of the two previous US Marshals Service (USMS) bitcoin auctions always wound up announcing themselves within days of their successful bids.

The first auction winner was, famously, venture capitalist Tim Draper, who claimed all the 30,000 bitcoins for sale. The second auction saw the lion's share go to a syndicate organised by Bitcoin Investment Trust, although Draper again picked up some coins.

The third and most recent USMS auction had three winners, but only one of them has come forward so far. That's New York exchange itBit, which claimed 3,000 coins, the smallest tranche on the auction block.

Now blockchain-watchers believe they may have identified a second winner, who claimed the largest amount of coins – 27,000 BTC – on sale.