- 300 Bitcoin, worth $31M, donated to Ross Ulbricht.
- Funds traced to AlphaBay, a defunct dark web market.
- Users employ Bitcoin mixers to hide the donor’s identity.
Accounts associated with the now-defunct dark web marketplace AlphaBay were able to connect a $31 million Bitcoin gift to Ross Ulbricht, the pardoned creator of Silk Road bazaar. This donation, consisting of 300 Bitcoin, was sent to Ulbricht’s wallet on June 1, 2025, sparking speculation about where it came from and what its purpose was.
Ulbricht got the funds shortly after making his first public appearance at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas in January 2025, after his release under President Trump’s pardon. Blockchain analysis revealed where the donation came from, namely AlphaBay, a dark web marketplace that operated between 2014 and 2017.
Origins of the Bitcoin Donation
The transfer of the 300 Bitcoin, worth more than $31.4 million at the time, came from wallets associated with AlphaBay, which had surpassed Silk Road in scale. Blockchain data indicates that the funds were passed through multiple Bitcoin mixers known as a Jambler, to try to obfuscate their path. Anonymizing transactions would suggest the donor wanted to remain hidden.
Over 250,000 product listings and 40,000 vendors were hosted by AlphaBay at its peak before the site was shut down by authorities in 2017, Europol stated. The FBI said the Silk Road was ten times larger and facilitated anonymous drug and cyber criminal transactions through the use of cryptocurrency. Just like with the last donation, the link to AlphaBay raises questions about whether it was a former vendor or an admin.
“Since AlphaBay’s closure, the person who held onto these bitcoins would have seen their value grow by over 40 times,” said Phil Larratt, a former UK National Crime Agency official. The huge appreciation of Bitcoin’s value since 2017 explains the size of the donation.
Ulbricht’s Post-Pardon Activities
After his release, Ulbricht has been active within the crypto community. On 29 May 2025, he spoke at the Bitcoin 2025 conference, in which he urged unity and decentralization in the cryptocurrency space. He also auctioned some personal items, his prison ID card and others, which netted him over $1.8 million in Bitcoin via Scarce City, a Bitcoin-focused marketplace.
Days after speaking at his conference, the timing of the donation has fuelled speculation about the purpose. Ulbricht’s invention of the first anonymous cryptocurrency transactions, the Silk Road, may have served as the inspiration for this dark web figure’s expression of gratitude. Some think it may be a repayment of an old debt from his dark web days.
Concerning the source of the contribution, Ulbricht has remained silent. The Free Ross campaign, which campaigned for his pardon, has not responded to attempts to reach him. The mystery around anonymity and the lack of donors’ motives keeps the crypto space buzzing.
The donation adds to Ulbricht’s reported wealth. According to a blockchain analysis conducted by Arkham Intelligence, there were 430 Bitcoin, or just over $47 million, sitting in wallets tied to Ulbricht that hadn’t moved for more than 13 years. Authorities never seized these funds, which could enhance his financial standing.
