Silk Road founder’s 300 Bitcoin payday unlikely ‘a self donation’ — ZachXBT

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Ross Ulbricht’s caller receipt of 300 Bitcoin is from “questionable sources,” but it’s improbable to beryllium a lawsuit wherever helium donated it to himself, says blockchain researcher ZachXBT.

Ulbricht, who founded the infamous online achromatic marketplace Silk Road, received 300 Bitcoin (BTC), worthy $31.4 million, to his wallet that was soliciting donations, Blockchain analytics steadfast Lookonchain said successful a June 1 station to X.

The funds came from wallets utilizing a centralized mixing work called Jambler, which led immoderate societal media users to speculate, without evidence, that the funds could beryllium Ulbricht’s profits from the Silk Road, which helium mightiness person hidden distant earlier helium was nabbed by authorities and sent to prison.

However, ZachXBT said successful a June 2 X station that helium was skeptical that this is the lawsuit due to the fact that “few entities regularly usage Jambler successful size,” and helium recovered “a imaginable demix for the donation.”

“It apt doesn’t look to beryllium a aforesaid donation arsenic radical were claiming though it comes from a questionable sources owed to the flagged address” helium said.

The latest Bitcoin donation came from wallets utilizing the Jambler mixing service, but “normal privateness enthusiasts usage decentralized mixers,” according to ZachXBT.

ZachXBT said 1 of the addresses progressive has speech enactment dating backmost to precocious 2014, portion different was progressive successful 2019 and antecedently flagged successful compliance tools.

“Both were depositing successful size to Jambler astatine akin times arsenic the 300 BTC Ross donor received from Jambler. Both had dormant BTC from Nov 2019 until the mixer deposits made from April to May 2025,” helium said.

He added successful effect to a user’s query that “Everyone was accusing Ross of a self-donation, truthful if anything, this proves it was a donation and not his concealed stash due to the fact that determination was enactment erstwhile helium was distant successful prison.”

Ulbricht-tied wallets inactive person Bitcoin

Ulbricht ran Silk Road, which utilized Bitcoin for its payments, until 2013 erstwhile helium was arrested and sentenced to a treble beingness sentence positive 40 years successful 2015. He served 11 years down bars earlier US President Donald Trump pardoned him connected Jan. 21.

Coinbase manager Conor Grogan said successful January helium found 430 Bitcoin, worthy implicit $45 million, successful wallets helium claimed were tied to Ulbricht. According to Grogan, the wallets person been inactive for implicit 13 years and were ne'er seized by authorities.

Blockchain analytics steadfast Arkham Intelligence backed up Grogan’s assessment, tracing 14 Bitcoin addresses connected to Silk Road, with 1 holding implicit $9 cardinal successful Bitcoin.

Ulbricht recently held an auction of idiosyncratic belongings, which brought successful much than $1.8 cardinal worthy of Bitcoin.

The postulation included idiosyncratic effects from earlier his 2013 arrest, specified arsenic a sleeping bag, backpack, a drum and situation memorabilia similar a lock, notebook, covering and respective paintings created portion incarcerated.

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