A US government agency is selling 0.7501 bitcoin worth about $41,000 at current prices as part of an auction

• An independent agency of the US government is putting up 0.7501 for sale at its auction this month.
• Online bidding for the fraction of bitcoin is scheduled to be held between March 15 to 17.
• Other items being auctioned include a storage container, Nikon digital cameras, and sedans.

The US government is selling an uncommon item at its planned auction this month: 0.7501 bitcoin.

Bitcoin rose 2% to $53,770 on Tuesday, and is up 82% year-to-date. At current prices, the government's bitcoin offer detailed under lot 4KQSCI21105001 equates to about $40,312.

The US General Services Administration uses auctions to offer opportunities to the public to bid on surplus federal assets. The agency hasn't specified where its surplus bitcoin came from. Bidding for the fraction of bitcoin is scheduled between March 15-17.

Other items being auctioned by the agency include a 12,000-gallon storage container, Nikon digital cameras, HP 800 computers, and Ford, Dodge and Chevy sedans.

It is still a starkly lower amount than the 30,000 bitcoins auctioned by US marshals in 2014 that were seized from the Silk Road online black market. That auction drew more than 40 bidders, according to Reuters. But venture capitalist Tim Draper won the final bid and claimed the entire amount, at the time worth $19 million. His coins would be worth $1.6 billion today.

Bitcoin has become a force of innovation and seen significant highs and lows since its invention in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Crypto advocates are confident it will continue to differentiate itself further from traditional asset classes, especially as major Wall Street players have begun to add it to their balance sheets.

"The backdrop of huge pent-up institutional demand and interest from long-term investors may be here to say, but time will tell," said Paolo Ardoino, CTO at crypto exchange Bitfinex. "Those drawing parallels to the bursting of the crypto bubble in 2017 may not be accounting for the technology's advancement since then. We believe the technological infrastructure of the space as a whole is proving itself to be robust."