tl;dr
Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace, received a $31.4 million Bitcoin donation from an unknown wallet after being pardoned and released from prison. He transferred most of these funds on June 1. Since his release, Ulbricht has also raised $1.8 million through an auction of pe...
Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace, recently received an astonishing donation of 300 BTC, valued at approximately $31.4 million, from an anonymous wallet following his presidential pardon and release from prison. This significant influx of Bitcoin arrived after Ulbricht secured $1.8 million through the auction of his personal items, which included prison ID cards and paintings created during his incarceration.
Ulbricht was pardoned by former U.S. President Donald Trump after serving 12 years of a life sentence. After his release, blockchain records reveal that Ulbricht moved almost all of the donated bitcoins on June 1, distributing $31.29 million to one address and just over $10,000 to another. Earlier donations included about $270,000 sent to a wallet managed by the Free Ross campaign, meant to support his transition post-release.
The ongoing auction of Ulbricht’s personal items, hosted on the Bitcoin-only marketplace Scarce City, features artifacts from before and during his imprisonment. Items include a sleeping bag, backpack, prison ID cards, and oil paintings made in prison. One notable sale was his latest prison ID card, fetching 5.5 BTC, following a defaulted winning bid of 11 BTC. A December 2023 collaborative oil painting titled ‘Archway’ sold for over 1 BTC, symbolizing hope and the possibility of a better future beyond confinement.
Beyond these donations and sales, dormant Bitcoin wallets linked to Ulbricht harbor significant wealth. During the Silk Road shutdown in 2013, the U.S. government seized over 100,000 BTC, but wallets still associated with Ulbricht contain millions more. Notably, an analysis uncovered 14 Silk Road-related wallets, with one holding around $9 million in BTC. Recent activity in two such wallets moved over 3,400 BTC, valued at $324.2 million, indicating Ulbricht's potential access to vast holdings that remained untouched through the years.
This remarkable financial rebound spotlights the evolving narrative of one of cryptocurrency’s most infamous figures, underscoring the interplay between legal developments, blockchain transparency, and the enduring influence of digital assets.