Dormant Bitcoin Wallet Awakens—Silk Road’s Ross Ulbricht Gets $31M Windfall

A long-dormant Bitcoin wallet just coughed up $31 million—straight into the hands of Silk Road co-founder Ross Ulbricht. The crypto world’s buzzing: Is this a philanthropic gesture or just another bizarre twist in Bitcoin’s anarchic legacy?

Ulbricht—serving life without parole—now sits on a fortune he can’t touch. Meanwhile, Wall Street fund managers are still trying to explain why their ’stable’ assets got rocked by a meme coin last quarter.

• Ross Ulbricht, co-founder of Silk Road, received a surprise 300 BTC donation worth $31.4 million days after earning $1.8 million in an auction.
• Blockchain data reveals multiple dormant wallets linked to Silk Road have reawakened, including the movement of over 3,400 BTC valued at $324.2 million.

Silk Road co-founder Ross Ulbricht has received a massive Bitcoin donation worth $31.4 million shortly after securing $1.8 million in a recent auction. This unexpected gift has drawn the attention of many, and the question of who sent it and why it was sent remains in the mouths of many. The timing of the donation, coming just after his auction win, adds to the mystery surrounding the case.

On Saturday, the 31st of May, Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the darknet marketplace, was rewarded a large donation of 300 BTC valued at around $31.4 million from an unidentified wallet, according to data from Arkham Intelligence. Ulbricht, who was previously sentenced to life imprisonment but later granted a full and unconditional pardon by President Donald Trump on January 21, leading to his release after spending 12 years behind bars. Days after this unexpected Bitcoin gift, it was recorded that Ulbricht moved the funds on June 1, sending approximately $31.29 million to one address and another $10,000.43 to a separate one. This donation is significantly larger than any he has previously received. 

For example, shortly after his release, a campaign known as Free Ross collected about $270,000 in Bitcoin to assist with his reentry into everyday life. The sudden appearance of such a large amount has sparked conversations in the crypto space, especially given the unknown source and timing of the transfer.

Dormant Silk Road Co-founder Wallet Resurfaces

Aside from the recent large donation, there’s a high possibility that Ross Ulbricht may also be able to access millions in bitcoin that were never taken by authorities. When Silk Road shut down in 2013, the U.S. government seized over 100,000 BTC. However, on the 22nd of January, Coinbase director Conor Grogan found 430 BTC worth about $47 million spread across several wallets linked to Ulbricht. 

He noted that these wallets had been inactive for more than 13 years. Arkham Intelligence later confirmed Grogan’s discovery, tracking 14 Bitcoin addresses connected to Silk Road, including one holding about $9 million. Interestingly, last month, two of those old wallets suddenly became active again, moving 3,422 BTC valued at $324.2 million.

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