The founder of the Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, recently received 300 bitcoins from "suspicious sources," but it is unlikely that this is a case of him donating to himself, according to blockchain researcher ZachXBT.
Ulbricht, who created the infamous online black market Silk Road, received 300 bitcoins (BTC) worth $31.4 million in his fundraising wallet, as stated in a post on X by blockchain analysis firm Lookonchain on June 1.
These funds came from wallets using a centralized mixing service called Jambler, which led some social media users to speculate, without evidence, that the funds might be profits Ulbricht hid from the Silk Road before being captured and sent to prison by authorities.
However, ZachXBT expressed skepticism about this situation in a post on X on June 2, stating that "few entities would regularly use Jambler in large amounts," and he found "potential anti-mixing traces of the donations."
"While the source is suspicious because the address is marked, it doesn't look much like the self-donation people claim," he said.
The latest bitcoin donation came from wallets using the Jambler mixing service, but according to ZachXBT, "ordinary privacy enthusiasts use decentralized mixers."
ZachXBT noted that one of the involved addresses has a trading history traceable back to late 2014, while another was active in 2019 and had previously been marked in compliance tools.
"Both made large deposits to Jambler around the same time that Ross's donor received 300 BTC from Jambler. Both BTC have been dormant since November 2019, until deposits were made to the mixer between April and May 2025," he said.
In response to user inquiries, he added, "Everyone is accusing Ross of self-donation, so if anything, this proves it was a donation and not his secret stash, as there are activity records during his imprisonment."
Ulbricht operated the Silk Road, which used bitcoin for payments, until he was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to two life sentences plus 40 years in 2015. He served 11 years in prison until he was pardoned by U.S. President Trump on January 21.
Coinbase director Conor Grogan stated in January that he discovered 430 bitcoins worth over $45 million in wallets claimed to be associated with Ulbricht. According to Grogan, these wallets had been dormant for over 13 years and had never been seized by authorities.
Blockchain analysis firm Arkham Intelligence supported Grogan's assessment, tracking 14 bitcoin addresses related to the Silk Road, one of which holds over $9 million in bitcoin.
Ulbricht recently held an auction for personal items, raising over $1.8 million worth of bitcoin.
The collection includes personal items from before his arrest in 2013, such as a sleeping bag, backpack, drum, and prison memorabilia like locks, notebooks, clothing, and several paintings created during his incarceration.
Related: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has faced criticism for its shift in cryptocurrency staking policy.
Original article: “ZachXBT: The 300 Bitcoins (BTC) Received by the Silk Road Founder Are Unlikely to Be ‘Self-Donation’”
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