Quick Take
- Ross Ulbricht is dropping an NFT based on his artwork collection.
- The Jailed Silk Road founder said the NFT auction starts on Thursday.
- The artwork is a collection of his drawings from different stages of his life.
Ross Ulbricht’s controversial NFT goes on auction today despite causing a stir when he first made the announcement. The imprisoned dark web marketplace founder has collaborated with Levitate to come up with an animated collection of his artwork.
Ulbricht’s Twitter account shared a Medium post announcing the action on Wednesday. The account had shared a black and white sneak peek of his work saying that the bidding was going to start at $1.00.
In the Medium blog post, he details the purpose of launching the NFT whilst behind bars. Recounting the number of times he has seen children visit their dads in prison, leaving with tears when the visitation time is over, Ulbricht notes the damage a prison can do to families, communities and especially children.
“My own future may look bleak, but I can still do a little something to heal the damage I see all around me,” Ulbricht wrote.
Ulbricht wants to make a difference where it really counts, in the lives of children who innocently suffer from the imprisonment of their parents.
“There is a lot we can do with the proceeds of this auction, but one idea I am committed to is to help kids travel to visit their moms and dads in prison,” he added.
The proceeds will be donated to Art4Giving, a charitable fund dedicated to relieving the suffering of the imprisoned and their families.
The NFT is titled “Ross Ulbricht Genesis Collection” and is open for bidding between December 2 and December 8. It includes ten of his drawings and writings from when he was a toddler up to now and a singular animation.
The auction will kick off at 10:00 am ET during Art Basel Miami via the SuperRare platform. The collection is curated by Entoptic and is the first and only NFT to include Ross Ulbricht’s personal work.
Ulbricht was imprisoned for life without parole in 2013 when he was 29 years old and his family and supporters have continued to run the FreeRoss campaign in the hope of receiving a pardon for the incarcerated early bitcoin adopter.
Reports also indicate that some of the proceeds will be used to help the campaign that could eventually get him freedom.
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