Ross Ulbricht’s upcoming NFT sale has crypto community divided

Ross Ulbricht's upcoming NFT sale has crypto community divided
“Ross Ulbricht’s upcoming NFT sale has the crypto community divided” Image via FreeRoss.org
  • Twitter account operating in support of the jailed Silk Road founder announced the NFT sale on Wednesday.
  • Proceeds from the sale will help free Ulbricht and support imprisoned people and their families.
  • The cryptocurrency community is divided on Ross Ulbricht’s upcoming NFT sale.

JAIPUR (CoinChapter.com) – Convicted founder of the erstwhile darknet marketplace Silk Road will launch his NFT collection come December 2. Auctions for the Ross Ulbricht Genesis Collection will be live on SuperRare for a week ending December 8. Despite a charitable motivation, the move has drawn mixed reactions from the cryptocurrency community.

The Ross Ulbricht Genesis NFT Collection

Art Inspired by Comics, Surrealism, And Prison Life

Ulbricht’s NFT collection contains 11 works of handmade art that the incarcerated Silk Road founder created during his time in prison. His supporters took up the mantle of minting them into NFTs.

Related: Empowering through blockchain: Women Rise NFT to launch on Rarible

Ross (in the voice of his supporter) claimed to be from an artistic family in the official announcement regarding the upcoming launch of his NFT collection.

“I drew comic book characters for many years. Then, as a teen, I adopted a surreal, psychedelic style that pushed the boundaries of my craft.”

read an excerpt from “My NFT”

His art collection is a result of drawing made throughout his entire childhood. However, the last series of works depict moments from his trial days leading to imprisonment.

One of Ross's sketches titled "uncageable" will go on sale in the upcoming NFT auction
One of Ross’s sketches titled “uncageable” will go on sale in the upcoming NFT auction. Source: FreeRoss.org

“I was 29 years old when I was arrested. Suddenly, sitting in prison, I had time for drawing again. I reconnected with my artistic side, producing illustrations that told the story I was going through. I was able to connect to those of you in the free world through my art. The isolation I felt was tempered by it.”

Helping Families Reunite With Their Jailed Kin Is The Objective

The blog read that the primary motivation behind putting out the artworks as NFTs is to raise funds for the kin of millions of prisoners serving sentences across the United States. Especially the kids of convicted persons who yearn to meet family members separated due to their ongoing jail terms.

“With this NFT, I see a chance to make a difference where it really counts: in the lives of kids who did not ask for any of this. 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.”

Related: NFT beats Crypto to become Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year

NFT Sale Sparks Mixed Reactions From Crypto Community

The move attracted both positive and negative responses from the cryptocurrency community, especially on Twitter.

“I am being mobbed for this tweet, so here is my nuanced opinion: I love Ross and I hope he raises a lot of money for whatever charity he supports, he is NOT a scammer (obviously) the fact that the insane and immoral NFT ponzi has now become fully normalized is deeply troubling.”

said Francis Pouliot, founder of Bull Bitcoin

“I think this NFT hype is pure nonsense, but I’ve donated sats to Ross in the past and I’ll do it again.”

said Giacomo Zucco criticizing the NFT release while still spporting Ross’s release

Nonetheless, quite a lot of folks supported the upcoming release of Ross’s NFT collection.

Related: WestCoastNFT helps artists generate $23 million in revenue

The most visible support came from CryptoCobain(CC) host of the cryptocurrency only show UpOnly. CC pointed out how Ulbricht was serving a lie imprisonment sentence and how he significantly contributed to Bitcoin adoption in the early days.

“Ross Ulbricht (the Silk Road founder who’s serving two life sentences plus 40 years) is having an NFT sale to raise money. And Bitcoin maximalists are vilifying him. You brainlets have lost the fucking plot.”

said Zack Voell supporting CryptoCobain’s point of view.

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