- Kraken donated $111K worth of Bitcoin to Ross Ulbricht to help him “land on his feet” following his over a decade of incarceration.
- Meanwhile, a Coinbase official traced dozens of unconfiscated wallets holding a total of 430 BTC to the founder of the now-defunct Silk Road darknet marketplace.
Silk Road Founder’s Newfound Freedom
Ross Ulbricht, the controversial figure behind the now-defunct Silk Road, has finally walked free. This came after President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social yesterday that he signed a full and unconditional pardon for the founder of the darknet marketplace.
Ulbricht only served 12 years out of the two life sentences plus 40 years handed to him by the court in 2013. Trump revealed that he called Ulbricht’s mother to inform her of the good news while calling his prison term “ridiculous.” The president likened the crypto personality’s ordeal to his experiences under a “modern-day weaponization of government.”
Kraken Donates $111K BTC as Support
Kraken, in a show of solidarity, posted that it recently sent $111,111 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to Ulbricht. The exchange said the gesture aimed to help him “land on his feet.”
As of Wednesday noon, the wallet linked to Ulbricht has already accumulated over 2.57 BTC worth $263,522. This came from 173 confirmed transactions based on mempool.space data.
430 Bitcoin Linked to Ross Ulbricht
The mounting donations come hot on the heels of reports about the presence of unconfiscated wallets belonging to Ulbricht. Conor Grogan, Head of Business Development at Coinbase, recently traced dozens of wallet addresses linked to Ulbricht. The addresses that supposedly evaded the US government’s crackdown during the Silk Road founder’s investigation contained around 430 BTC or roughly $47 at the time of the discovery.
Grogan wasn’t sure whether Ulbricht still had access to all the wallets in question. However, he assured the public, “We will know soon enough.” In other words, it may not be long until the mind behind Silk Road would cash in his remaining BTC, provided he still had their private keys.
A Mixed Sentiment Toward Ross Ulbricht’s Pardon
Ulbricht’s lengthy prison term was a result of his conviction following a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sting operation that eventually led to Silk Road’s closure. Along the way, the authorities confiscated a total of 114,000 BTC, which amounted to $28.5 million during the seizure or around $11.62 billion as of writing.
The court found him guilty of all charges stemming from his involvement in a criminal enterprise, narcotics conspiracy, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to commit computer hacking. Nevertheless, many in the crypto community considered his punishment to be connected to his role as an “early crypto builder.”
In fact, Ulbricht’s acts seemed to have been glorified in a new documentary made by filmmakers Blake Harris and Jonah Tulis, who were famous for their work in Console Wars. The film is currently in post-production.
