Imprisoned Silk Road Founder announces an NFT drop
Ross Ulbricht, the founder of currently defunct dark web marketplace Silk Road, has sparked curiosity by his latest announcement saying that he is auctioning off his series of nonfungible tokens (NFT) starting December 2. The imprisoned Bitcoin adopter has made the announcement on December 1, via his supporter operated Twitter account. He has said that he is planning to auction the Ross Ulbricht Genesis Collection on the Superare NFT marketplace between December 2 and December 8. The collection comprises 11 works of art Ulbricht has handmade, which his supporters have minted into NFT form.
The art had been made in different stages of Ulbricht’s life from his childhood up to his time in prison. The early works in his collection depict comic book characters and animals, whereas the latter works display scenes from Ulbricht’s court trial and inner feelings that he has had since his imprisonment. As per reports, all proceeds from the auction would help funding a trust that would support Ulbricht’s efforts in gaining freedom from prison. Funds would also help launch the Art4Giving, which is a donor-advised charitable fun, particularly “dedicated to relieving the suffering of the incarcerated and their families.”
Ulbricht has for long been a controversial character in the crypto space since his sentence to two life terms in the federal prison in October 2015 on charges of operating the dark web Silk Road marketplace. Silk Road had opened on the dark web during February 2011, allowing users to purchase almost anything using Bitcoin, including illicit substances. The latest NFT sale announcement has sparked a blizzard of conflicting commentary from crypto analysts, enthusiasts, traders and, in general, from people on the social media. Although some have shown angst against Ulbricht’s decision, yet a large number of people have mostly shown support for his cause.
One commenter, who is the Founder of bullbitcoin.com @francispouliot, has said that although he supports Ulbricht, the fact that the “insane and immoral NFT Ponzi” recently become completely normalized is “deeply troubling.” Other Bitcoin maximalist @vladenhawk has written that he could “tolerate the creation of international drug and weapons markets,” but NFTS is where he draws the line.”
Crypto Cobain, a high-profile host of UpOnly TV, has also pointed out in support of the charitable cause that although a few Bitcoin maximalists might right now be against Ulbricht minting NFTs, he was actually very “instrumental in generating early Bitcoin adoption.”
