NY-based bitcoin exchange itBit says won 5 blocks of U.S. bitcoin auction

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York-based bitcoin exchange itBit said on Monday it won five blocks of the digital currency at last week's auction conducted by the U.S. Marshals Service. The bid by itBit's was organized on behalf of a syndicate of the exchange's and over-the-counter trading clients, said Bobby Cho, director of trading at itBit. The five blocks of the virtual currency may have added up to at least 10,000 bitcoins. Cho declined to give further comments. Last week's auction included 21 blocks of 2,000 bitcoins and one block of over 2,341 bitcoins. The U.S. government last Thursday held its final auction of bitcoins seized during the prosecution of the creator of Silk Road, an online black market where the virtual currency could be used to buy illegal drugs and other goods. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Diane Craft)