Ross Ulbricht received $31 billion worth of BTC in donations. Ross is the founder of Silk Road, and this donation has certainly fanned some speculations about the origin of the fund. Analysts claimed that the funds originated from AlphaBay and not Silk Road. AlphaBay is a prominent player in the darknet marketplace. As a result, speculation is running wild.
A leading on-chain analysis firm, Chainalysis, has just informed WIRED that the 300 BTC donated to Ross originated from AlphaBay, which operated between 2014 and 2017. According to Chainalysis director Phil Larratt, the funds originated from a major vendor on AlphaBay.
Phil Larrat’s Opinion
Larrat shared the information, saying, “We have reasonable grounds to suspect that these funds originated in AlphaBay. Looking at the amount, that would suggest they came from someone who was possibly a vendor on AlphaBay back in the early days.”
What is interesting is that Ulbricht was released from prison after 12 long years on charges of running a non-regulated marketplace, known as Silk Road. ZachBXT, a prominent crypto sleuth, observed the transaction and found a trail leading to Jambler, a platform used by crypto users to launder money.
Zach told Wired that, “Usage of multiple mixers, spreading out CEX deposits, etc, that is done typically if you are trying to avoid getting illicit funds frozen.” However, he did state that the donation was a “legitimate donation but not legitimate funds.”
This has shined the light of controversy on Ross all over again.
