From Prison: Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht launches NFT and bids already over $1 million

Part of the proceeds from the sale of the NFT non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are cryptocurrencies that do not possess the property of fungibility. collection will go to an organization that helps prisoners and their families.

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The new digital digital technologies are these electronic tools that have the ability to generate, store or even process data. art project of the imprisoned founder ofSilk Road, Ross Ulbricht is making waves in the space with bids already in excess of US$1 million.

Ross Ulbricht, known for having created and operated the illicit market an area or arena, online or offline, in which commercial dealings are conducted. withBitcoin the biggest and most popular cryptocurrency in the world. It is a decentralized digital currency that enables users to make trustless peer-to-peer transactions. on the deepweb,Silk Roadannounced this week its foray into the world of thetokens non fungible in cryptocurrency, fungibility is when a coin or token can be replaced by any other identical coin or token. (NFT) with the collection “ Ross Ulbricht Genesis Collection “ . Minted inEthereum a decentralized open-source blockchain with smart contracts functionality.The collection is composed of various works of art made and inspired by Ulbricht’s life.

As such, theobra NFT is made up of a total of ten pieces that include writings in which Ulbricht describes his emotions and thoughts from prison, as well as some of his freehand drawings. Also included is a original animation by the digital artist Levitate which is inspired by Ulbricht’s time in prison and in which the young man’s voice can be heard.

Just released: A unique & never-before-seen animation created by @LEViTATE_AV that is inspired by @RealRossU ‘s prison experience. Voiceover by Ross.

It’s part of the #RossUlbricht Genesis Collection NFT that is currently being auctioned on @SuperRare . https://t.co/rNuN73uRum

— Free_Ross (@Free_Ross) December 2, 2021

The auction an auction is a public sale through a bidding process where an asset is sold to the highest bidder. of the NFT collection, which is taking place on the platform a place to buy, sell and store cryptocurrencySuperRare and was released on Thursday, has already caught the attention of many collectors. One day after its release, the work has registered more than ten bids. Currently the highest bid is for a sum of 420.69 ETH or about USD $1.8 million at current prices.

Ulbricht dabbles in NFT from prison

Ulbricht, who spends his days at a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, announced the initiative through a post on its website. blog personal which he updates with the help of his mom and other family members who transcribe his physical letters into the portal.

I was 29 years old when I was arrested. Suddenly, sitting in jail, I had time to draw again. I reconnected with my artistic side, producing illustrations that told the story I was going through. I was able to connect with those in the free world through my art. The isolation I felt was lessened by it.

Although he’s been deprived of freedom for 8 years, the developer is looking to keep up with advancements in the crypto space, and although he wasn’t familiar with NFTs, he became excited about the innovation when he started digging into it later this year after someone suggested he sell his tokenized art.

“Perspective,” a graphite pencil drawing created in prison by Ulbricht, is one of the pieces in his NFT collection.

In addition, with its NFT project, it also has the intention to raise funds to support the opposite of Resistance, it is a threshold that crypto’s price doesn’t fall below. other prisoners and their families. as well as contribute to the efforts to fight for their own freedom. “With this NFT, I see an opportunity to make a difference where it really counts: in the lives of children who didn’t ask for any of it.“he wrote on his blog and continued:

There are many things we can do with the proceeds from this auction, but one idea I am committed to is helping children travel to visit their mothers and fathers in prison.

Coinciding with the dates of the celebration of the art fairArt Basel Miamithe auction of the Ulbricht NFT collection will be open for bidding atSuperRare until next December 8th.

A reason not to lose hope

Branded as a dangerous criminal by public opinion, Ulbricht’s story became popular after his arrest in 2013.

Since 2011, he had operatedSilk Roada dark web marketplace where users could buy illicit drugs in exchange businesses that allow customers to trade cryptocurrencies for fiat money or other cryptocurrencies. forBitcoinunder the alias “Dread Pirate Roberts“. During the two years it was open,Silk Road was the world’s largest online drug marketplace, handling millions of dollars in daily volume. It was also the first major use case forBitcoin as a means of payment.

The website was shut down in 2013, following the arrest of its founder. In February 2015, Ulbricht was found guilty of money laundering conspiracy, computer hacking, narcotics trafficking and running a criminal enterprise. He was sentenced to two life sentences plus 40 years, without the possibility of parole.

During his time in prison, his mother Lyn Ulbricht and family friends have been actively campaigning for his release. In the meantime, he has maintained a blog account an account is essentially a whose purpose is to track the financial activities of a specific asset/ and a cuenta de Twitter where he shares his notes and comments from prison.

In one of its tickets most recent, Ulbricht said her exploration of NFT art was a way to tell her story, something that gave her hope of finding something to live for. Although his future might seem bleak to many, he prefers to maintain an optimistic attitude. “I am still alive.I am still here. I can still make a differencenone