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Previously unknown crypto address of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht found

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On January 22, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump officially signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, according to his post on Truth Social.

Center: Ross William Ulbricht

During the presidential campaign, Trump stated that he would commute Ulbricht's sentence on his very first day in office if re-elected. A similar promise was made by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a presidential candidate who has become an ally of Trump.
Ross Ulbricht is an American programmer and entrepreneur, best known as the creator and administrator of the underground online platform Silk Road. This website, which operated on the darknet from 2011 to 2013, allowed users to anonymously buy and sell goods, including drugs, using the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

In 2013, Ulbricht was arrested by the FBI and charged with creating and managing an illegal marketplace, money laundering, hacking activities, and other crimes. He was sentenced to two life terms without the possibility of parole.

His case sparked widespread debate about privacy rights, drug legalization, and the severity of sentencing.
Truth Social is a social network created by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG).
The release of Ross Ulbricht from prison has long been a priority for Bitcoin advocates, who have petitioned for years to have his sentence commuted, arguing that it was disproportionately harsh. Ulbricht's vision for Silk Road was based on libertarian ideals of free markets and individual freedom, themes that strongly resonate with parts of the cryptocurrency community. After the shutdown of Silk Road, U.S. authorities seized approximately 174,000 BTC from wallets associated with the platform, most of which have since been auctioned off by the U.S. government.

On January 22, 2025, a Twitter user discovered an address belonging to Ross—1CQvW4U4ZEbdmazX2Rbn5URWgd6­MfWoPx1—that had not been confiscated by the U.S. government. The reasons for the funds remaining untouched are unknown. It is speculated that at the time of Ross's arrest, this amount was not of significant value.

The identified cryptocurrency address is: 1CQvW4U4ZEbdmazX2Rbn5URWgd6MfWoPx1

You can independently analyze the address belonging to Ross using the Bholder and Btrace services from AML Crypto. Bholder allows you to identify the sources of funds and destinations associated with the analyzed address, as well as visualize this information and provide labeling data (probable owners of cryptocurrency addresses):

Screenshot of Bholder tool from AML Crypto

The AML Crypto team has found links between Ross's address [1CQvW4U4ZEbdmazX2Rbn5URWgd6­MfWoPx1] and the address:

  1. Silk Road darknet market [1GYDvX61CyRaKpzvonWowE6veQ­WvXMeznG]
  2. InstaWallet service [13hmhjpo46BahtpeZCzkYSj9PFGHT­akjh7, 1LRNKZmQKaMEbtkzUiR3ikGGsQW­GNxwvzG]
  3. BTC-E centralized exchange [15gLdpmaXkitTBEsspQvmQN1UMk­YsTeb4v]

Btrace can provide more information about the risks associated with an address, its basic information, its activity, counterparties and connections to known entities:

Screenshot of Btrace tool from AML Crypto

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