Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace, raised over 1.3 million dollars in Bitcoin through the sale of personal and prison-related items.
The auction conducted through Scarce.city took place simultaneously with his attendance at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference after his first release following Donald Trump's presidential pardon earlier this year.
Silk Road Founder's Public Return
The sold items included prison-issued IDs, clothing, paintings, and handwritten notes. The 2024-2025 prison IDs recorded the highest bid at 5.5 BTC, with three ID sets sold for a total of 7.5 BTC, valued at over 780,000 dollars at the time.
Other memorabilia included a laptop sold for 1.06 BTC, three prison paintings that brought in a total of 2.41 BTC, and prison sneakers and workout clothes sold for 0.54 BTC and 0.51 BTC respectively.
Ulbricht also auctioned personal belongings from before his arrest, including a djembe drum, a backpack, and a sleeping bag. In a statement shared on the Scarce.city auction platform, he explained that these items represent a chapter that should now be left behind.
"I have left Arizona where the prison was. Now it's time to travel. This means scaling down and opening a new chapter. I decided to auction off personal items from before my arrest and during my time in prison. I no longer need those memories, and some of you might want them." – Ross Ulbricht
Immediately after the auction, on-chain data analysis company Lookonchain detected a donation of 300 BTC, worth approximately 31.4 million dollars, to Ulbricht. This transaction is one of the largest single donations recorded this year.
This donation came a few days after Ulbricht delivered an emotional speech at Bitcoin 2025.
On stage, he expressed gratitude for the Bitcoin community's support during his imprisonment.
The Silk Road founder also emphasized freedom, decentralization, and unity as values that should shape the next stage of cryptocurrency development.
"We haven't reached freedom yet. We need more freedom." – Ross Ulbricht
Ulbricht's event attendance represents a new effort to engage with the cryptocurrency space from a different perspective.
While his past remains controversial, his message resonated with many attendees who continue to see Bitcoin as a tool for personal empowerment.
