Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the infamous Silk Road dark web marketplace, may have a secret stash of Bitcoin worth millions. A recent discovery suggests he could be sitting on a small fortune.
$44 Million in Untouched Bitcoin?
Online investigator Conor Grogan found dozens of Bitcoin wallets linked to Ulbricht containing around 430 BTC. These coins have been untouched for over 13 years – Ulbricht’s entire prison sentence. The wallets, possibly overlooked as insignificant “dust wallets” back then, are now worth a staggering $44 million.
Can He Access the Funds?
While the Bitcoin likely belongs to Ulbricht, there’s a catch. Grogan doubts Ulbricht still has access to the private keys needed to move or spend the money. It’s possible this fortune is completely inaccessible to him.
Ulbricht’s Significant Contribution to Government Holdings
It’s ironic that Ulbricht contributed significantly to the government’s massive Bitcoin holdings. The government seized a huge amount of Bitcoin from him and others connected to Silk Road, currently holding around 198,000 BTC (worth about $20 billion).
A Campaign Promise Kept?
Pardoning Ulbricht fulfilled a campaign promise made by President Trump. This has fueled speculation that Trump might also follow through on other crypto-related promises, such as creating a US Bitcoin reserve to hold seized cryptocurrency instead of selling it. While not mentioned in his inaugural address, Ulbricht’s pardon offers a glimmer of hope for the crypto community.
