Ross Ulbricht received a huge gift from the cryptocurrency world. He was pardoned earlier this year, and within a few hours, 300 bitcoins (about $31.4 million) were sent to his donated wallet.
He has seen support from big players like Kraken, who offers $111,111 in Bitcoin, while grass-roots efforts are about $270,000. Now that he’s enough to start over, many in the cryptocurrency community are watching closely.
Community support flow
According to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, a few hours after sending it out, 300 BTC landed in Ulbricht’s wallet. This is not the first time generous supporters have reached out.
Ross Ulbricht (@realrossu), #silkroad Market, received 300 $ btc($31.4 million) Donated wallet 8 hours ago. pic.twitter.com/joumnqm99p
– lookonchain (@lookonchain) June 1, 2025
Earlier in 2025, Kraken quietly connected $111,111 to help him adapt to life outside the prison. A group called Free Ross claims to donate more than $270,000.
Another speech related to Ulbricht collected $4,615 in Ethereum, USDC, Tether (USDT) and Binance Coin (BNB). All of this shows that many people are still very concerned about his fate.
Presidential pardon and rebound
On January 21, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a complete unconditional pardon for Ulbricht. He spent 11 years serving 11 years, but he had life imprisonment after being convicted of narcotics and money laundering conspiracy in New York in 2015.
According to the report, Ulbricht can use inactive bitcoin wallets associated with the Silk Road, which could hold about $47 million. This potential hiding only exacerbates more debate: Some ask him if he really needs external donations if he can take advantage of $47 million in dormant coins.
Auction of personal items
Ulbricht also turned to selling his past works. According to a report from Scarce Cities, a collectibles platform powered by Bitcoin, he raised about $1.8 million by auctioning personal items and art.
His prison ID attracted the highest bid: 11 BTC, now worth more than $1.1 million. Oil painting sold at 1.01 BTC with the help of prisoner “Omega”. A total of 13 artifacts were snapped up, including prison sneakers, sneakers, a T-shirt, prison notebook and locker locker locker locker locker.
Before being arrested, he had things like Djembe drums, backpacks and Vibram Fivefingers shoes. The bidder must complete the payment by June 2, and Ulbricht said he is ready to move forward physically.
Featured images from Unsplash, charts for TradingView
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