AlphaBay Revealed as Source of 300 Bitcoin Donation to Ross Ulbricht

There are stories that are buried under lawsuits, maximum security prisons, and forgotten headlines. Then there is bitcoin, that red thread that is never really cut. In June 2025, a transaction of 300 BTC, equivalent to 31 million dollars, lands in the jackpot of Ross Ulbricht, creator of Silk Road, the legendary darknet black market. The catch? This windfall comes from a wallet linked to AlphaBay, its infamously notorious successor. The past hasn’t said its last word. It returns… encrypted.

The ashes of the darknet blow on the present

AlphaBay is not just a name in the FBI archives. It’s a myth recycled in the depths of the blockchain. Between 2014 and 2017, it was the epicenter of illicit online commerce — bigger, more discreet, more profitable than Silk Road. And yet, in 2025, it is suspected of having written a check for 31 million in BTC to support Ulbricht, a fallen figure who has become an icon for some.

According to the blockchain analysis company Chainalysis, in a report relayed by WIRED, the donation comes directly from a bitcoin wallet associated with AlphaBay. No approximations here: the flows, timestamps, addresses… all match. Phil Larratt, director at Chainalysis, speaks of a major seller from the time. In other words, a well-placed, well-supplied player who is still very much alive today, at least digitally.

This spectacular gesture, although symbolic, raises questions. Why reactivate such a sordid link? Out of nostalgia? Strategy? Or is it a sign of a broader comeback of darknet forces, reorganized in the shadows?

Bitcoin, mixers and anonymity: an art of digital camouflage

If bitcoin enabled the tracing of this operation, it is also its paradox: it is both transparent and impenetrable. The analysis by ZachXBT, an independent blockchain detective, confirms that the 300 BTC did not transit via clean channels.

We are talking here about a transfer through Jambler, a centralized mixer with a dubious reputation, far from the classic decentralized mixers like Wasabi or the late Samourai.

The goal? Erase the traces. The amounts are segmented. The transactions scrambled. We jump from wallet to wallet. And sometimes cash out in stablecoins, in small doses. Everything is designed to escape algorithmic surveillance of exchanges or authorities. It’s the 2025 version of silent theft in a deserted alley, except the alley stretches across thousands of blocks.

ZachXBT sums it up bluntly: “It’s a legitimate gift, but not legitimate funds.” In other words, a poisoned gift, wrapped in a package of crypto idealism. The case of the 300 BTC sent to Ross Ulbricht raises many questions about the true origin of the funds, between activist gesture and shady strategy.

Ross Ulbricht: from digital martyr to ideological totem

Ross Ulbricht is no longer just a name on an arrest warrant. Since his pardon by Donald Trump in January, he has become a living symbol again. A martyr for some, an unlucky pioneer for others. And this massive donation could well crystallize a will: to remind that Ulbricht is not forgotten.

This support could also serve as a warning. A message whispered through lines of code: the network still exists. It watches, acts, and rewards its fallen heroes. In the political and ideological arena where bitcoin’s future is fought — between regulation and resistance — this kind of gesture weighs heavily.

Bitcoin forgets nothing. It remembers every transaction, every wallet, every movement. But beyond memory, it also allows resurgence. Thanks to it, the specters of the darknet can return from between the blocks, and Ross Ulbricht still receives offerings from a world he helped create. This 31 million gift is not just a simple crypto anecdote. It’s a brutal reminder that the war between centralization and digital freedom continues, and that some have never laid down arms — they’ve just encrypted them.