Ross Ulbricht Released After 12 Years with a Crypto Wallet Worth $47 Million

by cryptheory

January 24, 2025

Reading Time: 2 mins read

Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, was freed by Donald Trump on January 22 after spending 12 years in prison. Now, rumors are circulating that he still has access to a crypto wallet containing $47 million in assets. Additionally, major crypto exchange Kraken is said to have made a donation to him.

Kraken Donates $111,111 in Bitcoin

To help Ross Ulbricht start his new life, Kraken donated $111,111 in Bitcoin to him. So far, Ulbricht has received approximately 2.5 BTC in donations through this address.

Dear Ross,

All of us at Kraken want to make sure that after what you've been through, you're able to land on your feet with the support of the community that loves you most, the ₿itcoin community.

That's why we've donated $111,111 in $BTC to YOU

-Kraken pic.twitter.com/SCnZety71W

— Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) January 22, 2025

Donald Trump pardoned Ulbricht on his second day in office, fulfilling a promise from his election campaign.

At the time of his release, Ulbricht had already spent twelve years in prison for creating Silk Road, a darknet marketplace. He was originally sentenced to two life sentences plus 40 years, a punishment that many considered excessively harsh.

President Trump called Ulbricht’s sentence “ridiculous” and granted him a pardon.

Ross Ulbricht Holds $47 Million in Bitcoin

The Kraken donation came at the same time as Coinbase executive Conor Grogan claimed that Ulbricht’s non-confiscated wallets still hold $47 million in Bitcoin.

It is likely that in 2013, the U.S. government did not consider it worthwhile to track down these Bitcoins. Back then, they were worth significantly less. However, over the past 12 years, their value has skyrocketed.

I found ~430 BTC across dozens of wallets associated with Ross Ulbricht that were not confiscated by the USGovt and have been untouched for 13+ years

Back then these were probably dust wallets, now, collectively, they are worth about $47M.

Welcome back Ross pic.twitter.com/KmCp4xcrI7

— Conor (@jconorgrogan) January 22, 2025

The only question Grogan is uncertain about is whether Ross Ulbricht still has access to the private keys for these wallets.
“We’ll find out soon,” Grogan wrote.

Bitcoin Community Sees Ulbricht’s Pardon as Bullish

Many in the Bitcoin community view Ulbricht’s pardon by Trump as a bullish sign. This move is seen as one of Trump’s Bitcoin-related promises and potentially a step toward establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve.