Kraken Donates $111K in BTC to Support Silk Road Founder
Kraken has made a significant donation of $111,111 in Bitcoin to the FreeRoss campaign, which supports Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road founder recently released from prison.
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According to Bitcoin blockchain data, donations to the campaign’s wallet now total over 2.57 BTC (approximately $263,000). Since the wallet’s inception, it has received 164 individual deposits, not including contributions via other blockchains like Ethereum, Ripple, Solana, and BNB Chain. For those who prefer traditional payment methods, donations can also be made through PayPal.
The donation has sparked renewed debate over Ross Ulbricht’s alleged fortune, estimated at $47 million, reportedly stored in a wallet linked to him. Whether Ulbricht still holds the private keys to access these funds remains uncertain. If not, the assets—allegedly the only ones not confiscated by the U.S. government—may be permanently lost. At the time of his arrest, the Bitcoin in question was worth just $500,000.
“We will know soon enough,” Coinbase executive Conor Grogan said.
Ulbricht’s pardon was among the first acts of newly elected President Donald Trump, who had pledged during his campaign to grant him clemency. Upon signing the pardon, Trump described Ulbricht’s sentence as “outrageous.” The Silk Road founder was sentenced to two life terms without parole and served 12 years in prison.
Related: Ross Ulbricht: Darknet Kingpin or First Crypto Prisoner?
Ulbricht’s sentence has long been a point of contention within the crypto community, widely viewed as a heavy-handed display of government power meant to stifle Bitcoin’s rise. Critics of the sentence have included not only Ulbricht’s supporters but also politicians, human rights advocates, and legal experts, who argue that the punishment was disproportionately severe for a non-violent crime.
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