The auction featuring personal belongings of Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road founder pardoned by President Trump earlier this year, has raised over $1.8 million in pledged Bitcoin.
Among the auctioned items were Ulbricht’s sleeping bag, backpack, and drum from before his arrest, along with incarceration-related objects like a lock, notebook, clothing, and several artworks he created in prison.
“I’ve left Arizona, the state where I was in prison. It’s time to travel. That means downsizing and turning the page,” Ulbricht shared in a message on the auction page. “I’ve decided to auction some personal items from before my arrest and during my time in prison. I don’t need the reminders and I’m sure some of you will love to have them.”
One standout item, Ulbricht’s final prison ID card, featuring a smiling photo of the early Bitcoin adopter, garnered a winning bid of 11 BTC, valued at over $1.1 million. “The guard tried to get me to stop smiling for the photo, but my joy comes from within, so I smiled that day, even though I was in prison :),” Ulbricht noted on the item’s page.
A painting created by Ross Ulbricht alongside his mentor in oil painting, a fellow prisoner known as “Omega,” secured a winning bid of 1.01 BTC. (Bidders have until Monday, June 2, to finalize their offers.)
“I loved the look of this archway in a photograph so much, I had to paint it,” Ulbricht shared. “It gave me the feeling that, if I could pass through it, something better would be on the other side.”
The auction was hosted by Scarce City, a marketplace specializing in Bitcoin-related goods sold for BTC.
