Australia is selling A$16m (US$11m) in confiscated bitcoins in the first of such auctions held outside the US, as demand for the cryptocurrency surges to its highest level in almost two years.

澳大利亚将出售政府没收的价值1600万澳元（合1100万美元）的比特币，这将是在美国以外首次举行此类拍卖。目前市场对这种加密货币的需求飙升至近两年的最高水平。

EY, the auditing and financial services group, said on Monday it had been engaged to sell 24,518 bitcoins, which were confiscated as “proceeds of crime” during 2015.

审计和金融服务集团安永(EY)周一表示，它已受托出售24518枚比特币，它们是在2015年作为“犯罪所得”被没收的。

The auction comes as the value of the world’s most popular digital currency hit $534.47, its highest since August 2014, according to CoinDesk, which operates a bitcoin price index.

澳大利亚举行此次拍卖之际，根据提供比特币价格指数的CoinDesk的数据，这种世界上最流行的数字货币的价值涨至534.47美元，为自2014年8月以来最高。

Prices have risen about 25 per cent since the start of the year, putting the market value of all bitcoin in circulation at $8.29bn.

自今年初以来，比特币价格已上涨约25%，使投入流通的所有比特币的市场价值达到82.9亿美元。

“The trading history of bitcoin has been volatile,” said Adam Nikitins, EY transactions partner. “But we are now seeing a more steady increase in prices and we are confident of having a hotly contested auction.”

“比特币的交易历史一直起伏不定，”安永交易业务合伙人亚当•尼特金斯(Adam Nikitins)表示。“但我们现在看到价格呈现比较稳定的上涨，我们有信心举办一场竞拍踊跃的拍卖。”

The US Marshals Service conducted several similar bitcoin auctions in 2014 and 2015, which were recovered during the prosecution of Ross William Ulbricht, founder of a black market website known as the Silk Road.

美国法警局(US Marshals Service)曾在2014年和2015年举行了数次类似的比特币拍卖，那些比特币是在对黑市网站“丝路”(Silk Road)创始人罗斯•威廉•乌布利希(Ross William Ulbricht)提起公诉的过程中收缴的。

EY did not reveal the identity of the vendor for its Australian auction, which is believed to be an arm of the Australian government. The Sydney Morning Herald reported in October 2014 that criminal authorities had confiscated 24,500 bitcoins from a Melbourne-based drug dealer.

安永没有透露其澳大利亚拍卖会的卖主身份，据信那是澳大利亚政府的一个部门。《悉尼先驱晨报》(Sydney Morning Herald)曾在2014年10月报道，刑事当局从一个墨尔本毒贩没收了24500枚比特币。

Australia’s bitcoin sale will be conducted via a 48-hour sealed bid auction beginning at 12.01am on June 20. Bidders are able to submit bids on 11 lots of 2,000 bitcoins and one lot of 2,518 bitcoins, and can bid on multiple lots.

澳大利亚的比特币出售将通过48小时密封投标拍卖进行，从6月20日零时01分开始。竞拍人将能够对11手2000枚比特币和一手2518枚比特币投标，可以对多手投标。

Mr Nikitins said he expected interest from digital asset managers, digital currency exchanges, and investment banks and hedge funds, which were experienced in dealing with bitcoins.

安永的尼特金斯表示，他预计在处理比特币方面经验丰富的各类机构都会有兴趣，包括数字资产管理人、数字货币兑换机构，以及投资银行和对冲基金。

“Interest in this technology continues to grow. The number of bitcoin transactions since 2012 has quadrupled and parties are seeing more opportunities and uses for the technology,” he said.

“对这一技术的兴趣继续增长。2012年以来比特币交易数量翻了两番，各方都看到了该技术的更多机会和用途，”他说。