Silk Road founder receives $31 million Bitcoin donation, suspected to be related to Alphabay dark web market

According to Cointelegraph, blockchain analysis company Chainalysis reported that Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht received a donation of 300 bitcoins (worth approximately $31 million) earlier this month, suspected to have come from Alphabay related wallets on the dark web market. Analysis shows that donors use multiple hybrid services to conceal transaction traces, and the funds may have originated from early suppliers of Alphabay. Blockchain detective ZachXBT confirmed that the funds did not come from Silk Road, but their transaction pattern suggests that they may have involved illegal sources. Alphabay was the successor to Silk Road and operated from 2014 to 2017, but was later shut down during Operation Bayonet. It is worth noting that Ulbricht received a full pardon from President Trump in January this year, after serving 12 years for operating Silk Road.