Report: Ross Ulbricht's large Bitcoin donor has ties to the dark web market Alphabay According to Cointelegraph, blockchain analysis shows that the cryptocurrency wallet associated with the closed dark web market AlphaBay is suspected to be the source of a donation of 300 bitcoins (worth approximately $31 million) to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. Blockchain analysis company Chainalysis revealed to Wired magazine that these Bitcoin donations were made earlier this month and can be traced back to AlphaBay, which operated from 2014 to 2017. Chainalysis speculates that the funds may come from the main suppliers of the platform. Independent blockchain investigator ZachXBT confirmed that the funds did not come from the Silk Road, and also pointed out that donors used multiple mixing services to cover up transaction traces and cashed out other cryptocurrencies in small amounts, implying that the funds may have come from criminal activities. However, ZachXBT stated that the analysis shows that the money is a "legitimate donation, but the source of funds is not legitimate". He said, "The use of multiple coin mixers, decentralized deposits in CEX, and other actions are usually taken in an attempt to avoid the freezing of illegal funds