“For me there is nothing more sacred than the will of the people.”
Jose Artigas
The beginning of December marked Ross Ulbricht’s release of his first drop of NFT, “Genesis Collection,” featured on the SuperRare platform. One day after the event, the highest bid for the collection exceeded $1.2 million.
The auction officially closed on December 8, successfully winning a $6.2M bid.
FreeRossDAO Fights For The Underdogs
Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, the most revolutionary platform in crypto history, has recently shaken the world with his return.
Nine years after being arrested and sentenced to two life sentences, Ulbricht returned with an NFT collectibles auction in an attempt for clemency and to support the family.
The auction drew a lot of interest from multiple individuals and organizations just a few days after it was announced, the majority of whom are Ulbricht supporters and obviously Silk Road enthusiasts.
As the winner was chosen, the auction ended successfully at 1446 ETH ($6.2M). FreeRossDAO, a novel decentralized organization, won ownership of Ulbricht’s collection.
FreeRossDAO is, in fact, PleasrDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization specializing in Ulbricht’s artwork distribution and Free Ross campaign coordinator. Interestingly, PleasrDAO operates under the management of top-level DeFi and NFT leaders including Su Zhu, Rober Leshner, and Stani Kulechov.
FreeRossDAO will receive NFTs that Ulbricht auctioned off on the SuperRare platform, including pencil drawings and poetry: “Mom’s Dae,” “Dolphin,” “I Hope the War is Over,” “Quicksilver,” “You lookin’ at Me?,” “The Trial I Saw, “Life in a Box,” “Uncageable,” “Perspective,” and “Death.”
Ulbricht has spent more than 9 years in prison and has personally experienced and witnessed the toll that a prison sentence can take on a family’s relationships. He is eager to raise funds to assist children in visiting their imprisoned parents.
The FreeRossDAO is a group of investors who hope to raise funds to bid on the Genesis Collection and contribute to the effort to free Ulbricht from life in prison through legal proceedings and public awareness.
The Silk Road’s creator had his first words in an interview in the scope of the 2021 Miami Bitcoin Conference. Ross Ulbricht’s case has been called a “false justice,” and more than 250 prominent organizations, individuals, and global leaders have expressed support for Ulbricht.
Good Luck With The Game!
The creator of Silk Road has one of the largest Change.org petitions in the US, as the petition has been signed by 433,845 individuals to date. The petition was filed seeking clemency for Ulbricht because his offense was non-violent and his investigation, trial, and sentencing were rife with signs of abuse.
The unique works of art portray Ulbricht’s childhood and prison time. Currently, Silk Road’s father is serving a dual life sentence and is unlikely to be pardoned.
Breki – Swan Studio’s creative director, commented on Ulbricht’s NFT art after the auction reached 666 ETH (around $2,6 million) on December 5:
“Ross’s artwork is beautiful and his outlook on life, despite everything, is no longer inspiring. I hope that one day they will get their freedom, the freedom that many of us take for granted every day. Yes, I oppose Ethereum and others, but we are all human, Ross even more so.”
The success of the NFT auction has so much meaning to Ulbricht, personally. He shared his thoughts on December 6, saying: “I’m so moved by what is going right now with the NFT auction,” “I feel…acceptance, love, validation, many things. You humble me.”
The case of Ulbricht is regarded as a crime in the eyes of the police and governmental powers. Thie rise and fall of the Silk Road are of great interest to publicity. In February this year, a movie inspired by the event was broadcast.
The NFT craze has grown significantly this year as we see some big names like Eminem and Snoop Dogg release their NFTs. The popularity of this year’s NFT has surpassed hot topics like Covid-19, Crypto, Metaverse to become the highlighted word of the year.
