Coinbase’s director of product strategy and business operations, Conor Grogan, claims to have identified approximately 430 bitcoin (BTC) in dozens of wallets, associated with Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht.
In a message on X Grogan assures that the funds have not been touched for more than 13 years and They are not part of the approximately 174,000 BTC confiscated from wallets linked to Silk Road, a platform that closed in 2013.
In his message, the director of Coinbase included a screenshot showing one of Ulbricht’s possible BTC addresses, with a balance of 88.77 BTC.
“Back then, they were probably “dust wallets”“(wallets to which small amounts of cryptocurrency are sent), Grogan wrote. But now, as a whole, They are worth about 47 million dollarshe added. He then closed his message by addressing Ulbricht: “Welcome back, Ross.”
It is understood that, although the authorities closed Silk Road more than 10 years ago and confiscated significant amounts of the BTC that were traded on the platform, it seems that at that time wallets that were They contained relatively small amounts of bitcoins.
Given the value of bitcoin at the time (it was trading at an average of $100), the associated amounts in those wallets was insignificant. However, due to the constant revaluation of the digital currency, the price grew substantially.
All of these wallets, which are now worth millions of dollars due to the appreciation of BTC over time, remain intact, indicates the Coinbase executive.
In his post, Grogan acknowledges that it is unlikely that Ulbricht still has the private keys stored somewhere. “I guess we’ll know pretty soon,” he said.
The revelation generated mixed reactions in the cryptocurrency community. Some industry participants expressed concern about the potential implications of publishing these findings, arguing that it could direct unnecessary attention toward Ulbricht.
In response to these concerns about the release of the information, Grogan clarified that I wouldn’t share the addressesalthough “they are all public and have already been tracked by multiple sources.”
Additionally, he pointed out that the information circulating talking about a recent move of 6,300 BTC linked to Silk Road.
As reported by CriptoNoticias, Ulbricht was released from prison on January 21, 2025, after receiving a total and unconditional pardon of President Donald Trump. Fulfilling a campaign promise, the president issued the pardon on his first full day in office, after taking the oath of office on January 20.
