Blockchain investigator accuses Vitalik Buterin of funding Ethereum ICO with seized Silk Street bitcoin

• TruthLabs Claims Ethereum's ICO Was Funded With Seized Silk Street Bitcoin
• The costs point out that Vitalik Buterin knew about this funding in early 2014.
• Criticism arises due to Buterin's lack of assist for Ross Ulbricht's freedom motion.

TruthLabs, an investigative blockchain analyst, has accused Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin of cashing in on bitcoin seized from Ross Ulbricht's Silk Street pockets throughout Ethereum's preliminary coin providing (ICO). The allegations emerged following a web-based change of knowledge between Buterin and Ulbricht on January 19, 2025.

Ulbricht, who’s serving a life sentence for working the Silk Street market, took to X to make clear his non-involvement with meme cash bearing his title. Vitalik responded with a message of assist, calling Ulbricht's life sentence “absurd” and expressing hope for his freedom.

Allegation by TruthLabs

Within the early hours of this morning, TruthLabs printed a collection of claims that bitcoins from Ulbricht's seized pockets had been used to fund Ethereum's ICO and the Ethereum Basis. They said that the autumn of the Silk Street and the confiscation of its property supplied the monetary basis for Ethereum's success.

In response to TruthLabs, Buterin was allegedly conscious as early as January 2014 that the Ethereum ICO could be funded by bitcoins tied to the property of Silk Street and the collapsed Mt.Gox change. The submit criticized Buterin for not main efforts to assist Ulbricht's freedom, regardless that Ethereum allegedly benefited from his imprisonment.

“Vitalik, your ICO and your basis's wallets had been funded by Bitcoin that got here from Ross Ulbricht's confiscated Silk Street pockets,” wrote TruthLabs.

They additional condemned Buterin for permitting grassroots actions just like the Free Ross DAO to depend on public donations whereas offering solely minimal public assist himself.

Broader context and response

Ross Ulbricht's life sentence has lengthy been a contentious situation, together with his supporters advocating for clemency and criticizing the severity of his sentence. Free Ross DAO, a decentralized fundraising initiative, has raised vital funds to assist Ulbricht's authorized efforts.

Neither Buterin nor the Ethereum Basis have responded to the allegations on the time of writing. Nevertheless, these claims have reignited debates concerning the origins of Ethereum's funding and the moral tasks of its management.

In the meantime, throughout US President-elect Donald Trump's marketing campaign, he pledged to the crypto neighborhood to exonerate Silk Street creator Ross Ulbricht if re-elected. Notably, as Trump takes workplace immediately, it stays to be seen whether or not he’ll observe via on the promise.