The recent $31 million Bitcoin donation to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, has sparked controversy and curiosity in the crypto world. Blockchain analysts have now confirmed that the funds did not originate from Silk Road, but rather from AlphaBay, a powerful successor in the darknet market landscape.
Chainalysis, a leading blockchain analytics firm, told WIRED in a report published on June 5 that the 300 BTC sent to Ulbricht was linked to AlphaBay, which operated between 2014 and 2017.
According to Phil Larratt, Chainalysis’ director of investigations, the scale of the donation suggests that the funds likely came from a large vendor on AlphaBay. He stated, “We have reasonable grounds to suspect that these funds originated in AlphaBay. Looking at the amount, that would suggest they came from someone who was possibly a vendor on AlphaBay back in the early days.”
The 300 Bitcoin, now worth approximately $31 million, was sent earlier this month after Ulbricht was granted a full pardon by former U.S. President Donald Trump in January, following 12 years in prison for running the Silk Road marketplace.
Before Chainalysis’ findings, well-known blockchain sleuth ZachXBT had already noted that Bitcoin did not come from Silk Road. His investigation revealed suspicious activity involving centralized mixing services like Jambler, often used to launder crypto.
“Usage of multiple mixers, spreading out CEX deposits, etc, that is done typically if you are trying to avoid getting illicit funds frozen,” he told WIRED. He further described the donation as a “legitimate donation but not legitimate funds.”
Chainalysis refrained from disclosing the exact method it used to trace the origin of Bitcoin, but the firm played a key role in “Operation Bayonet,” the law enforcement mission that dismantled AlphaBay in 2017.
At one point, AlphaBay had grown so big, it was said to be nearly ten times the size of Silk Road, pulling in around $2 million every single day from the sale of drugs, malware, stolen data, and more.
Its founder, Alexandre Cazes, was eventually caught in Thailand. But before he could be extradited or properly questioned, he was found dead in a Bangkok jail cell, under circumstances that have never really been explained.
The marketplace’s second major figure, who went by “Desnake,” is believed to still be out there, possibly watching all this unfold from the shadows.
What’s still unclear is why someone would donate $31 million worth of Bitcoin to Ross Ulbricht. Some think it could be about settling an old score or debt. Others suggest it might just be a way to honor him as the one who started it all, the original mind behind crypto-powered anonymous markets. There’s also the idea that maybe it’s coming from a place of guilt or unresolved gratitude.
As Taylor Monahan from MetaMask put it, “People donate when they’re deeply inspired by someone and/or grateful and/or have some sort of remorse for the situation. Survivor’s guilt is wild.”
Even with no clear answers about who sent the money or why, the donation has reopened an old conversation, that the world Ulbricht helped create with Silk Road, and the ripple effects that followed through AlphaBay and beyond, haven’t really gone away. They’re just hidden, shifting in the dark corners of the internet where Bitcoin, anonymity, and legacy still collide.
Also Read: Silk Road Founder Ulbricht Sells Prison Items for $1.8M BTC
