Alongside contributions from numerous supporters, Ross Ulbricht also retains access to a substantial amount of Bitcoin—worth millions of dollars—that was never confiscated.
Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road darknet marketplace, was sent 300 BTC—valued at approximately $31.4 million—in a single transaction from an unidentified wallet, according to data provided by Arkham Intelligence.
Ross Ulbricht, who had been serving a life sentence, was granted a full and unconditional pardon by U.S. President Donald Trump on January 21. Following this presidential pardon, he was released after having spent 12 years behind bars.
Blockchain records reveal that on June 1, Ulbricht moved the received funds, transferring approximately $31.29 million to a single address and an additional $10,000.43 to a different one.
The recent donation significantly surpasses the amounts Ulbricht received following his release. A wallet managed by the Free Ross campaign collected approximately $270,000 in Bitcoin within a few days of his freedom. These contributions were intended to support “Ross’s transition into his new life.”
Ulbricht’s Personal Items Raise $1.8 Million at Auction to Date
These transactions occurred after Ulbricht had already raised $1.8 million through the ongoing auction of his personal belongings. Hosted on the Bitcoin-exclusive marketplace Scarce City, the auction is set to remain active until June 2.
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.
In a note on Scarce City, Ulbricht wrote:
Among the personal belongings being auctioned are a backpack and sleeping bag used prior to his arrest, identification cards issued during his time in prison, and artwork he produced while incarcerated.
Ulbricht’s latest prison ID card was eventually sold for 5.5 BTC—valued at over $580,000—after the original winning bid of 11 BTC, approximately $1.1 million, went unpaid.
As stated in the item’s description, Ulbricht was required to have his ID reissued with an updated photograph in 2024 after a prison guard threatened to revoke his visitation privileges.
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 🙂
Ulbricht remarked:
An oil painting titled Archway, completed in December 2023 by Ulbricht in partnership with a fellow inmate known as Omega, was sold for 1.01 BTC—valued at over $106,000. According to the item’s description, Omega had mentored Ulbricht in the techniques of oil painting.
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.
He wrote:
Ulbricht May Hold Access to Millions in Long-Dormant Bitcoin
Alongside the substantial donations Ulbricht has accumulated, he may still retain access to a significant amount of Bitcoin—potentially worth millions—that was not confiscated by U.S. authorities. In the 2013 Silk Road takedown, the government seized more than 100,000 BTC.
On January 22, Coinbase director Conor Grogan discovered a total of 430 BTC—valued at approximately $47 million—distributed across several wallets associated with Ulbricht. Grogan pointed out that these wallets had remained inactive for more than 13 years.
Grogan’s findings were verified by Arkham Intelligence, which identified 14 Bitcoin wallets connected to Silk Road. One of these wallets alone holds BTC valued at $9 million.
Earlier in the previous month, activity was observed in two of these long-inactive wallets, which transferred a total of 3,422 BTC—equivalent to roughly $324.2 million.
