Coinbase’s Discovery of Ulbricht’s BTC

Coinbase Director of Product Strategy and Business Operations Conor Grogan claims to have identified approximately 430 BTC across numerous wallets associated with Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht.

Ulbricht recently received a full and unconditional pardon from President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Grogan emphasized that these funds are not part of the approximately 174,000 BTC seized by U.S. authorities after the Silk Road shutdown in 2013 and have remained untouched for over 13 years.

Grogan shared a screenshot of one of Ulbricht’s potential Bitcoin addresses, showing a balance of 88.77 BTC according to the blockchain explorer Mempool. He noted, “Back then these were probably dust wallets, now, collectively, they are worth about $47M. Welcome back Ross.”

However, Grogan expressed skepticism about whether Ulbricht still possesses the private keys to these wallets, stating, “I guess we will know soon enough!”

A Presidential Pardon

President Donald Trump officially signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ulbricht late Tuesday. This move sparked celebrations and relief within the community after more than 10 years of incarceration for the Silk Road creator, closely tied to Bitcoin’s early history.

Trump announced the pardon via a post on Truth Social, stating, “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.”

The family’s Free Ross campaign account responded, expressing deep gratitude: “Words cannot express how grateful we are. 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 involvement in operating Silk Road, a darknet market that facilitated the sale of narcotics and other illegal products and services using Bitcoin. The FBI arrested him in October 2013, and he was convicted in 2015 on multiple charges, including engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and conspiring to distribute narcotics.