$31M BTC Gift to Ulbricht Tied to AlphaBay, Not Silk Road

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$31 Million Bitcoin Gift to Ross Ulbricht Tied to AlphaBay, Not Silk Road

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: June 06, 2025

Key Takeaways

Chainalysis linked Ross Ulbricht’s $31 million Bitcoin donation to former AlphaBay wallets;
The sender used mixers and exchanges to hide the BTC trail and avoid detection;
ZachXBT said the donation looked real, but the funds likely came from shady sources.

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$31 Million Bitcoin Gift to Ross Ulbricht Tied to AlphaBay, Not Silk Road

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A recent blockchain investigation revealed that the 300 Bitcoin BTC $91,233.25 , worth about $31 million, sent to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht likely came from AlphaBay, a dark web marketplace.

The finding came from Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics company, which linked the donation to wallets once connected to AlphaBay.

AlphaBay operated between 2014 and 2017 and was known for handling illegal online trades.

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On June 5, Chainalysis told WIRED that the Bitcoin appears to have come from someone who may have been a seller on the platform, as they would have had access to that kind of money.

Chainalysis director of investigations, Phil Larratt, explained, "We have reasonable grounds to suspect that these funds originated in AlphaBay".

The sender moved Bitcoin through several services designed to break up and hide the transactions. These steps, including using smaller exchanges and mixing tools, were likely done to avoid drawing attention or having the funds frozen.

Blockchain researcher ZachXBT confirmed on X that the Bitcoin did not originate from Silk Road and stated that the pattern of transfers raised concerns. The sender used a centralized mixer called Jambler, which is different from more common privacy tools like Wasabi or the now-closed Samourai.

In a follow-up with WIRED, ZachXBT explained that while the donation itself may have been genuine, the way the money was handled suggests it came from sources that were not clean.

On May 30, Ulbricht spoke to a live audience at the Bitcoin 2025 conference. What did he say? Read the full story.