Auction for Ross Ulbricht's prison mementos, artwork raises $1.3 million in BTC

An auction of personal items belonging to Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road founder who was pardoned by President Trump earlier this year, has yielded nearly $1.3 million in pledged BTC. 

Among the items up for auction were a sleeping bag, backpack, and drum belonging to Ulbricht before his arrest, several items related to his incarceration like a lock, notebook, and clothing, and several works of art that Ulbricht painted 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 wrote 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 item, Ulbricht's final prison ID card which shows the early Bitcoin adoptee smiling widely, initially scored a winning bid of 11 BTC, currently worth over $1.1 million. However, the top bidder failed to pay out the total, so the ID card went to the second-highest bidder for 5.5 BTC (about $575,000). The bidder, "flowtostock," also bought two other ID cards belonging to Ulbricht. 

“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 wrote on the item's page. 

A painting by Ulbricht and the prisoner who taught him oil painting, who is known as "Omega," scored a winning bid of 1.01 BTC. (Bidders have until Monday, June 2, to finalize their bids.)

"I loved the look of this archway in a photograph so much, I had to paint it," Ulbricht wrote. "It gave me the feeling that, if I could pass through it, something better would be on the other side."

The auction was conducted by Scarce City, a marketplace that sells Bitcoin-related goods for BTC. 

Updated 6/1 at 11:30 am with details of the top bidder's withdrawal.