Latest news with #Ulbricht
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ross Ulbricht, The Silk Road Founder Pardoned By Trump Soon After His Inauguration, Receives A Whopping $31 Million Worth Of Bitcoin In Donation Wallet
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. A wallet linked to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of illegal drug marketplace Silk Road, received over $30 million in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) on Saturday, sparking intrigue among the cryptocurrency community. What Happened: According to on-chain tracker Lookonchain, Ulbricht's donation wallet received a transfer of 300 BTC, approximately $31.47 million. Hours later, the stash was transferred to another wallet, details about which remained unknown as of this writing. A message sent to the Instagram accounts of Ulbricht and his wife by Benzinga did not receive an immediate response. Trending: — no wallets, just price speculation and free paper trading to practice different after, theories and conjectures arose, with observers making various claims. A cryptocurrency commentator called CR1337 said, 'You want to tell me that a single entity donated 300 BTC, more than $30M, to Ross Ulbricht, and that this is not just one of his old wallets and he sent it to himself?'Another user, Execute, meanwhile, invoked the ideas of 'freedom, privacy, and justice' while discussing the massive transfer. Meanwhile, Ulbricht has managed to raise nearly $1.3 million in pledged BTC by auctioning off personal items from before and during his imprisonment through the Bitcoin auction platform Scarce City. The items included his prison ID card, prison notebok and artworks he created while imprisoned. Why It Matters: Ulbricht was pardoned by President Donald Trump earlier this year as part of a campaign promise. Ulbricht was serving a double life sentence since 2013 for creating the darknet website Silk Road—a hub of the illegal trafficking of heroin, cocaine, LSD, and other substances, all paid for in Bitcoin. Shortly after the pardon, wallets belonging to Ulbricht were discovered, containing as many as 430 BTC unmoved for over 13 years. Read Next: New to crypto? Get up to $400 in rewards for successfully completing short educational courses and making your first qualifying trade on Coinbase. A must-have for all crypto enthusiasts: Sign up for the Gemini Credit Card today and earn rewards on Bitcoin Ether, or 60+ other tokens, with every purchase. Photo Courtesy: Paopano on Send To MSN: Send to MSN This article Ross Ulbricht, The Silk Road Founder Pardoned By Trump Soon After His Inauguration, Receives A Whopping $31 Million Worth Of Bitcoin In Donation Wallet originally appeared on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Yes, Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road dark web marketplace
Claim: U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the creator of dark web marketplace Silk Road. Rating: Ross Ulbricht, formerly known online by the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts" (a nod to the novel "The Princess Bride"), is known today as the founder of the Silk Road marketplace, a former site on the dark web notorious for selling illicit drugs, among other products. Since Donald Trump retook office in January 2025, social media users have suggested that the president's hard line immigration policies and rhetoric about migrants being "criminals" or "drug dealers" are hypocritical because on Jan. 21, 2025, his second day back in the White House, Trump issued Ulbricht a full and complete pardon following his arrest and imprisonment in 2013 and 2015, respectively, for drug trafficking, computer hacking and money laundering. For example, one Facebook user shared a meme that claimed the president pardoned Ulbricht and added: "Who's letting criminals and drug dealers loose in our country?" (Facebook user Raymond Wynn) This rumor is indeed true. Trump posted about the pardon on his social media platform, Truth Social, and it was reported by reputable news media outlets like Axios and the BBC. Federal documentation also confirmed the grant of clemency (archived). (Whether the Silk Road sold fentanyl, as claimed in the above meme, is unconfirmed. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] data on drug overdoses suggest that fentanyl did not become prevalent until after Silk Road closed in 2013. But the site was notorious for selling vast swathes of drugs.) Ulbricht created the Silk Road site, accessible only using specific software that could connect to the dark web, in January 2011. He ran its cryptocurrency-based marketplace until October 2013, when it was shut down by federal authorities and he was arrested. The BBC reported that in the two and a half years it was operational, users sold more than $200 million in drugs through the site, which also offered fake IDs and hacking tools. "It's kinda earned the reputation as the eBay of drugs," cybersecurity researcher Brian Krebs reportedly told NPR in 2013, following Ulbricht's arrest. In 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge for drug trafficking, computer hacking and money laundering as part of the Silk Road operations. In a 2015 news release from the Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara called Ulbricht "a drug dealer and criminal profiteer who exploited people's addictions and contributed to the deaths of at least six young people." Ulbricht attended Trump's 2025 State of the Union address, according to a post he made on X. — Snopes' archives contributed to this report. Abuse, National Institute on Drug. Drug Overdose Deaths: Facts and Figures | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). 21 Aug. 2024, Clarke, Amelia. "Yes, Trump Pardoned Creator of 'Silk Road' Dark Web Marketplace, Ross Ulbricht." Snopes, 9 Mar. 2025, ---. "Yes, Trump Pardoned Ross Ulbricht, Creator of 'Silk Road' Dark Web Marketplace." Snopes, 23 Jan. 2025, Dozens of 'Dark Market' Websites Seized as Part of Silk Road 2.0 Investigation | ICE. 6 Nov. 2014, Habeshian, Sareen. "Trump Pardons Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht." Axios, 21 Jan. 2025, Hu, Elise. "The Man Behind The Shadowy Illicit Drug Market, Silk Road." NPR, 3 Oct. 2013. NPR, Neuman, Scott. "FBI Arrests Alleged Owner Of 'Silk Road' Black Market Site." NPR, 2 Oct. 2013. NPR, 'No Safe Harbor for Illegal Immigrant Criminals Under President Trump'. The White House, 14 Apr. 2025, "Silk Road Drug Website Founder Ross Ulbricht Jailed." BBC News, 29 May 2015. 'Silk Road: How FBI Closed in on Suspect Ross Ulbricht'. BBC News, 2 Oct. 2013. 'Trump Pardons Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht'. BBC News, 22 Jan. 2025, U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. Ross Ulbricht, A/K/A "Dread Pirate Roberts," Sentenced In Manhattan Federal Court To Life In Prison. 29 May 2015,
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Silk Road's Ulbricht receives 300 BTC donation
-- Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, has received a donation of 300 Bitcoin (BTC) from an anonymous source. This donation, tracked by blockchain firm Lookonchain, was sent to Ulbricht's wallet early on Sunday. At the time of the transaction, the donated coins were valued at approximately $31.4 million. The transaction was followed by a transfer of the majority of these coins to the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, as indicated by data from Arkham. This happened within a few hours of the initial donation. Ulbricht, who was pardoned and released from prison by President Donald Trump on January 21, made his first public appearance since his release at the Bitcoin 2025 conference over the weekend. His life sentence was fully and unconditionally pardoned by the former president, following his conviction for creating and operating the Silk Road, a notorious online marketplace for illicit goods. Related articles Silk Road's Ulbricht receives 300 BTC donation Bitcoin price today: dips to $105k as Trump tariff uncertainty spurs profit-taking What's next for Bitcoin? Analysts react to Trump Media's $2.5B Treasury plan Sign in to access your portfolio
Arabian Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Arabian Post
Bitcoin Windfall: Ulbricht Receives $31.4M in Anonymous BTC Donation
Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace, has received an anonymous donation of 300 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $31.4 million, sent to his official Bitcoin address. This substantial contribution follows his release from prison after a full pardon by former U.S. President Donald Trump in January 2025. The donation was made to the Bitcoin address listed on a website dedicated to supporting Ulbricht. The identity of the donor remains unknown, and there has been no public acknowledgment from Ulbricht or his representatives regarding the transaction. In addition to this significant donation, an auction of Ulbricht's personal belongings has reportedly raised nearly $1.3 million in Bitcoin. The auction, organized to support Ulbricht's reintegration into society, featured items such as personal writings, artwork, and other memorabilia. ADVERTISEMENT Ulbricht's financial situation has been a topic of interest since his release. Coinbase executive Conor Grogan identified approximately 430 BTC, worth around $47 million, in wallets associated with Ulbricht that had remained untouched for over 13 years. However, it remains unclear whether Ulbricht has access to the private keys required to control these funds. The cryptocurrency community has shown considerable support for Ulbricht since his release. Crypto exchange Kraken donated $111,111 in Bitcoin to assist with his transition back into society. Additionally, various fundraising efforts, including merchandise sales, have contributed to a growing fund aimed at supporting Ulbricht's post-incarceration life. Ulbricht was arrested in 2013 and later sentenced to double life imprisonment plus 40 years without the possibility of parole for his role in operating the Silk Road marketplace. The platform facilitated the trade of illegal goods and services, primarily using Bitcoin for transactions. His sentence was commuted by President Trump, who cited support from the Libertarian movement and concerns over the severity of the punishment.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Suddenly Freed From Prison, Silk Road Founder Stunned by Advancements in World Since 2013
The 12-year campaign to free Ross Ulbricht — the criminal mastermind behind the Silk Road, the original crypto-enabled dark web mail-order-drug emporium — finally ended in January, when newly-minted second term president Donald Trump officially pardoned the bitcoin criminal. Now, Ulbricht is picking up where he left off, getting his first taste of a world he left behind in 2013 when a federal judge sentenced him to two counts of life in prison, plus 40 years without parole. In sum, Ulbricht's feeling some culture shock. Taking the stage at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas this week, the drug kingpin was agog at the piles of kitschy tech products that had passed him by. "When I walked out of prison a few months ago, I'd never seen a drone, used AI, or tried VR. I hadn't even chatted with AI," Ulbricht marveled. "Now it's all hitting me at once — the freedom, the technology, the fact that I have a future again." He also basked in the glow of the crypto community's love — a parasocial following that lavished his clemency petition with over 600,000 signatures and an astonishing number of right-libertarian micro-celebrity endorsements. "You didn't abandon me. You didn't forget me. You wrote me letters. You raised money for my defense. When I was silenced, you spoke up against the slander and the smears," the former dope baron lauded. Keep in mind, this wasn't a political activist jailed for protesting an unjust war, or a whistleblower whose life was destroyed after revealing a massive corporate fraud scheme. This is a guy who made millions selling drugs to teenagers and communities ravaged by the opioid crisis, resulting in at least six overdose deaths that we know of. (Not to mention the hitmen he tried to hire to take out his enemies, though he was unsuccessful.) At its peak in 2013, Ulbricht's Silk Road saw an estimated daily connected user base of 5.5 million. In just two years, it processed some $1.2 billion in illicit sales, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Through transaction fees, the service generated over $80 million worth of Bitcoin. Authorities in 2014 called it the "most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the internet." Of course, Ulbricht's saving grace isn't some ethical dilemma Trump has over incarceration or judicial mishandling, but the fact that he built Silk Road off the then-nascent blockchain. That single fact has cemented his status as a crypto superstar. For context, out of the 1.2 million citizens incarcerated in the US, over 360,000 of them face charges of nonviolent drug possession. In 2023, there were roughly 870,000 arrests for drug-related charges, the vast majority, or 87.8 percent of which were for drug possession — in other words, for carrying an impossibly tiny fraction of the volume that passed through Ulbricht's drug empire every minute. With his new lease on life, Ulbricht plans on paying it forward — not as an advocate for carceral reform or prison abolition, but to the crypto community of get-rich-quick schemers and granny scammers. "With so much speed and chaos, it's more important than ever to stay true to our principles," he told the crowd of cryptobros. "If we agree that we deserve freedom and that [crypto] decentralization secures it, we can stand together. Have each other's backs, as you had mine. Freedom, decentralization, unity — stay true to these, and the future is ours." More on crypto: Visitors At This Bitcoin-Heated Spa Are Complaining About Mold and UTIs
