- Ross Ulbricht received a 300 BTC donation worth $31.4 million on June 1, 2025.
- On-chain data from Lookonchain and Arkham confirmed the single large Bitcoin transfer.
Ross Ulbricht, founder of the defunct Silk Road marketplace, has received a 300 BTC donation, valued at approximately $31.4 million, according to Lookonchain. The transaction, verified by Arkham Intelligence, occurred around 2:00 AM UTC on June 1, 2025. This sudden influx of Bitcoin has triggered intense speculation across the crypto community.
Notably, Bitcoin was trading at $104,666 at the time of the transfer. The donation arrives as Bitcoin hovers near all-time highs. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively, on May 30. Consequently, some investors may view Bitcoin as a hedge amid traditional market instability.
Although Ulbricht walked free in January 2025 after 11 years in prison, his financial activities continue to attract scrutiny. President Donald Trump granted him a full pardon, ending his double life sentence. Since then, Ulbricht has re-entered the public eye and received numerous smaller donations. Earlier this year, Kraken donated $111,111 in Bitcoin to support his post-prison transition.
Ulbricht’s Auction Raises $1.3M
According to Free Ross, total contributions surpassed $270,000, including Ethereum, USDC, USDT, and BNB. Furthermore, Ulbricht recently raised 12.31 BTC (about $1.3 million) through an online auction of prison memorabilia. The Scarce City platform hosted the auction, which featured 13 personal items from before and during his incarceration.
Among the standout artifacts were Ulbricht’s final prison ID card and a painting titled Archway, created with a fellow inmate. His ID card fetched 5.5 BTC, while the painting sold for just over 1 BTC. Other items included his prison sweatsuit, sneakers, and personal effects such as a djembe drum and a sleeping bag.
The 300 BTC transfer, however, is a different magnitude entirely. It dwarfs previous donations and hints at either institutional backing or anonymous whale support. If Ulbricht sells the funds on exchanges, downward pressure on BTC/USD and BTC/USDT pairs may follow. These trading pairs saw volumes of $12.3 billion and $18.7 billion, respectively, in the last 24 hours, per CoinGecko.
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