Silk Road founder receives $31.4M BTC donation after bagging $1.8M in auction

The founder of the darknet marketplace Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, received 300 BTC, worth around $31.4 million, in a single donation from an unknown wallet, data from Arkham Intelligence shows. 

Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison, received a full and unconditional pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump on January 21. He was released following the pardon after serving 12 years in prison.

Blockchain data further indicates that Ulbricht transferred the received funds on June 1, sending $31.29 million to one address and $10,000.43 to another. 

The latest donation amount far exceeds those Ulbricht received after his release. A wallet operated by the Free Ross campaign bagged $270,000 worth of Bitcoin within days after he was freed. The funds were donated to “help Ross’s transition into his new life.”

Ulbricht’s personal items have fetched $1.8 million in an auction so far

The above transactions took place after Ulbricht had already secured $1.8 million from his ongoing auction of personal items. The auction, which is live till June 2, is being conducted on the Bitcoin-only marketplace Scarce City. 

In a note on Scarce City, Ulbricht wrote: 

“I’ve decided to auction some personal items from before my arrest and during my time in prison. I don’t need the reminders, and I’m sure some of you will love to have them.”

The personal items up for auction include a sleeping bag and backpack from before his arrest, prison ID cards, and paintings he created during his incarceration. 

Ulbricht’s most recent prison ID card was sold for 5.5 BTC, worth over $580,000, after the winning bid of 11 BTC (worth approximately $1.1 million) was not paid. 

According to the item’s description, Ulbricht had to have his ID reissued with a recent photo in 2024 after a prison guard threatened to suspend his visitation rights. Talking about the ID photo, which depicts Ulbricht smiling, he noted: 

“The guard tried to get me to stop smiling for the photo, but my joy comes from within, so I smiled that day, even though I was in prison :)”

A December 2023 oil painting entitled ‘Archway,’ which Ulbricht created in collaboration with a fellow inmate who goes by Omega, was sold for 1.01 BTC, worth over $106,000. The item’s description noted that Omega had taught Ulbricht oil painting techniques. He wrote:

“I loved the look of this archway in a photograph so much, I had to paint it. It gave me the feeling that, if I could pass through it, something better would be on the other side.”

Ulbricht can access millions of dollars worth of dormant BTC

In addition to the large sums Ulbricht has racked up in donations, he might also have access to millions of dollars worth of BTC that were never seized by the U.S. government. During the 2013 Silk Road bust, the government had seized over 100,000 BTC.

On Jan. 22, Coinbase director Conor Grogan found 430 BTC, worth around $47 million, across multiple wallets linked to Ulbricht. These wallets were lying dormant for over 13 years, Grogan noted. 

Grogan’s discovery was confirmed by Arkham Intelligence, which traced 14 Bitcoin wallets linked to Silk Road, one of which contains BTC worth $9 million.

Earlier last month, two of these dormant wallets became active, transferring 3,422 BTC worth $324.2 million.

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