Cryptocurrency wallets associated with the defunct darknet marketplace Silk Road showed unusual activity this week, moving millions in Bitcoin less than a year after founder Ross Ulbricht received a full presidential pardon from Donald Trump.
Blockchain analytics platform Arkham reported that the addresses transferred roughly $3.14 million worth of Bitcoin on Tuesday.
The sudden activity marks the most significant movement in these wallets in five years.
Dormant Addresses Suddenly Reactivate
Data showed that 176 individual transfers were executed from Silk Road-linked wallets, sending funds to a new and previously unknown destination address, identified as bc1qn.
The primary wallets tagged as connected to Silk Road still retain approximately $38.4 million in Bitcoin.
By comparison, the new recipient wallet currently holds only the $3.14 million that was shifted in this week’s transactions.
Earlier this year, these addresses carried out only three small test transactions, suggesting a dramatic change in behavior.
Cointelegraph was unable to verify the ownership of the new wallet and has reached out to Ulbricht for clarification.
Pardon Renewed Interest in the Silk Road Case
Ulbricht, who was serving a double life sentence without parole, was granted a full pardon in January.
He had been convicted in 2015 for creating and operating Silk Road, an online marketplace that enabled anonymous trading of illicit goods using Bitcoin as the primary payment method.
Following the pardon, supporters intensified fundraising efforts for Ulbricht’s cause.
Approximately $270,000 in Bitcoin donations have been contributed to the Free Ross campaign since early 2024.
Claims That Unseized Bitcoin Remains in Long-Dormant Wallets
Although the U.S. government seized approximately $3.36 billion in Bitcoin tied to Silk Road, analysts believe Ulbricht may still have access to additional funds stored in wallets never uncovered by investigators.
Conor Grogan, a director at Coinbase, highlighted that 430 BTC — now worth around $47 million — remain untouched in wallets he believes are linked to Ulbricht.
These funds have been completely dormant for more than 13 years.
Another Silk Road-tagged wallet, also likely connected to Ulbricht, holds an additional $8.3 million in Bitcoin.
That wallet has seen only limited activity, with just three minor test transactions over the past year, and has otherwise remained inactive for 14 years.
Uncertainty Over Who Controls the Funds
The resurgence of movement from Silk Road-associated wallets has reignited the longstanding question of who controls the remaining funds.
With the identities behind the newly activated wallets still unclear, speculation continues within the crypto community about whether Ulbricht, an associate, or an unknown third party initiated the transfers.
For now, analysts say the sudden shift may signal a broader pattern of long-dormant crypto assets being repositioned following Ulbricht’s high-profile pardon.
