A 300 BTC Donation to Ross Ulbricht Raises Doubts Among Blockchain Researchers

Ross Ulbricht, founder of the dark web marketplace Silk Road, received a transfer of 300 bitcoins (BTC), equivalent to $31.4 million. The funds were sent to an address designated for collecting donations, according to the analytics service Lookonchain on June 1.

The Transaction Was Made Through Jambler

The transaction was conducted via the centralized mixer Jambler — sparking speculation on social media that the funds might be a “secret reserve” Ulbricht had hidden before his 2013 arrest. However, no evidence has been provided to support this theory.

ZachXBT Questions the “Self-Donation” Theory

Blockchain researcher ZachXBT, in a June 2 post, stated that the theory suggesting Ulbricht sent the funds to himself is highly unlikely. He pointed out that Jambler is rarely used and claimed to have found a possible demix of the transaction that reveals the source of the funds.

“The donation most likely did not come from Ross himself, as some have claimed. Although the sender's address is marked as suspicious, the source is clearly external,” he explained.

According to his findings, one of the addresses involved in the transfer was active back in 2014, and another in 2019. The latter had already been flagged by compliance systems. Both wallets had been holding BTC in an inactive state since November 2019 and started making transfers through Jambler between April and May 2025 — the same period during which the 300 BTC were sent.

ZachXBT added that this wallet activity confirms the donation came from an outside source while Ulbricht remained incarcerated.

Prior to the Ulbricht Donation Investigation

Before investigating the donation to Ulbricht, ZachXBT made harsh accusations against crypto trader James Wynn. In his post, he referred to Wynn as a “Web3 prostitute” and supported an investigation into Wynn’s alleged involvement in long-running meme coin fraud schemes. Wynn is accused of receiving token allocations before public launches, manipulating prices, and cashing out at peak project hype.

Previously Found BTC Linked to Silk Road

In January, Coinbase director Conor Grogan reported discovering 430 BTC — over $45 million — in addresses he claimed were connected to Ulbricht. These wallets had been dormant for more than 13 years and had not been seized by authorities.

Arkham Intelligence confirmed Grogan’s analysis. Researchers linked 14 bitcoin addresses to Silk Road, one of which still holds over $9 million in BTC.

It was also recently revealed that Ulbricht held an auction where he sold personal belongings from before his arrest. The collection included a sleeping bag, backpack, drum, notebooks, clothing, a lock from his prison cell, and paintings created while incarcerated. The total amount raised exceeded $1.8 million in BTC.

Ulbricht Case Background

Ross Ulbricht operated Silk Road from 2011 to 2013. The platform functioned on the darknet and used bitcoin as a payment method. In 2013, Ulbricht was arrested and, in 2015, sentenced to two life terms plus an additional 40 years. He spent 11 years in prison before being pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump on January 21.

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