Coinbase exec claims to identify 430 bitcoin associated with Ross Ulbricht, untouched for 13 years
2025-01-22
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Coinbase Director of Product Strategy and Business Operations Conor Grogan claims to have identified approximately 430 BTC across dozens of wallets associated with Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht, who received a full and unconditional pardon from President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
Grogan stated on X that the funds are not part of the approximate 174,000 BTC seized from Silk Road-linked wallets by U.S. authorities following the platform’s shutdown in 2013 and have been untouched for over 13 years.
The Coinbase director included a screenshot displaying one of Ulbricht’s potential Bitcoin addresses. That address has a balance of 88.77 BTC, according to the blockchain explorer Mempool.
“Back then these were probably dust wallets, now, collectively, they are worth about $47M,” Grogan wrote. “Welcome back Ross.”
However, Grogan acknowledged it was unlikely that Ulbricht still had the private keys stored anywhere. “I guess we will know soon enough!” he said.
A presidential pardon
President Donald Trump officially signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ulbricht late Tuesday, leading to celebrations and relief across the community after more than 10 years of incarceration for the Silk Road creator integrally tied to Bitcoin’s early history.
"I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, announcing the news.
"Words cannot express how grateful we are," the family's Free Ross campaign account responded on X. "President Trump is a man of his word and he just saved Ross's life. ROSS IS A FREE MAN!!!!!"
Ulbricht was serving two life sentences plus 40 years for his role in operating Silk Road, a darknet market that facilitated the sale of narcotics and other illegal products and services using bitcoin. The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested him in October 2013 before being convicted in 2015 for engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, distributing narcotics, conspiring to distribute narcotics, conspiring to commit money laundering, conspiring to traffic in false identity documents and other charges.
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