Mystery 300 BTC Sent to Ross Ulbricht: Is It a Hidden Stash or a Surprise Gift?

Ross Ulbricht’s 300 bitcoin windfall has been revealed not to be a self-donation, according to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT. The transfer, worth around $31.4 million, landed in Ulbricht’s donation wallet and quickly stirred speculation online.

Unpacking the Mystery Behind the 300 Bitcoin Donation to Ross Ulbricht

Even after spending 12 years in prison for running Silk Road, which was a dark web marketplace that used bitcoin for payments, Ulbricht’s name still draws attention. He was arrested in 2013 and sentenced in 2015 to a double life sentence plus 40 years. In January, he walked free after receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump.

Now, the surprise Bitcoin transfer has reignited debate over whether Ulbricht had hidden crypto stashes from his Silk Road days. But ZachXBT’s analysis suggests otherwise. He explained that the bitcoin came from a centralized mixing service called Jambler. According to him, this service is far less popular than decentralized tools like Wasabi or Samourai, and often raises compliance concerns.

Blockchain Activity Suggests Outside Source

ZachXBT took a closer look at the trail behind the 300 bitcoin donation and uncovered two wallet addresses that had been inactive for years. Both wallets suddenly became active between April and May 2025 and deposited large amounts into Jambler around the same time Ulbricht’s donation wallet received the Bitcoin.

He also noted that one of the addresses had previously been flagged by compliance monitoring tools due to suspicious activity linked to exchanges in 2019. These findings suggested that whoever sent the funds had been sitting on the coins for a long time, only moving them recently.

When questioned by another user about the effort he put into tracing the funds, ZachXBT explained that he stepped in because so many were falsely accusing Ulbricht of sending himself the donation. In his words, the blockchain evidence clearly showed that someone else made the transfer while Ross had no access to any of these wallets.

Ulbricht’s Old Wallets Remain Still

Back in January, Conor Grogan from Coinbase pointed out that around 430 bitcoins—worth nearly $47 million—have remained untouched for over 13 years in wallets linked to Ulbricht, dating back to the early Silk Road era, as highlighted in his detailed tweet .

He explained that these wallets probably held only small amounts back then—so little they were easy to ignore and not confiscated. But over time, as bitcoin’s price climbed, their value grew into the millions. None of the coins have moved since Ulbricht’s arrest.

Supporting Grogan’s findings, Arkham Intelligence, a blockchain analytics company, traced at least 14 addresses linked to Silk Road. One of them held over $9 million worth of bitcoin. These wallets too showed no signs of recent activity, reinforcing the belief that Ulbricht has not been moving funds around.

Items from Prison Fetch Big Money

Ulbricht recently auctioned off personal belongings from both his time in prison and the years before his arrest. The auction brought in more than $1.8 million in bitcoin.

The items ranged from a sleeping bag and backpack to a hand drum, notebooks, and even his prison ID card. That card was sold for more than 5.5 bitcoins, with fans and collectors placing bids. The auction also included paintings he made while in prison, all detailed in the Ross Ulbricht collection .

I’ve decided to auction some personal items from before my arrest and during my time in prison. I don’t need the reminders and I’m sure some of you will love to have them.

Ross Ulbricht

There are still mixed feelings about Ulbricht. Some see him as someone who was involved in illegal activity for profit, while others consider him a scapegoat for a system that is uncomfortable with decentralized platforms and digital anonymity. That belief is likely what drives many to donate in support of him.