A Once and Future Tycoon?

After receiving a full pardon from President Trump, Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road darknet market, is a free man. But can he reclaim the $184 million worth of bitcoin the US government seized and sold?

The U.S. Marshals Service has begun the process of selling over 144,000 bitcoins that were once owned by Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the now-defunct darknet marketplace Silk Road.

The bitcoins, which were seized by the FBI at the time of Ulbricht's 2013 arrest, are being sold off in accordance with a court order that stipulated that the proceeds from the sale be used to pay outstanding victim restitution and other legal costs.

According to a notice posted by the Marshals Service, the bitcoins will be sold in seven separate lots, each ranging from 1,812 to 20,000 bitcoins. Interested parties will be able to submit sealed bids for each lot until March 10, 2024, at which point the highest bidders will be notified and given the opportunity to finalize their purchases.

The sale of the bitcoins, which were valued at around $48 million at the time of their seizure but are now worth over $1.4 billion, is expected to generate a significant amount of interest from both institutional and retail investors.

The auction also marks the latest chapter in the legal saga surrounding Ulbricht and Silk Road, which played a pivotal role in the early development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

After being found guilty of drug trafficking and money laundering charges in 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole—a sentence that sparked outrage among many within the crypto community and prompted an ongoing campaign for his release.

In 2023, following years of legal challenges and appeals, Ulbricht was granted a full pardon by former President Donald Trump, bringing an end to his criminal sentence and restoring his civil rights.

However, despite the pardon, the bitcoins that were seized by the FBI at the time of his arrest remained subject to forfeiture proceedings, setting the stage for their upcoming sale by the U.S. Marshals Service.