Ross Ulbricht's NFT Collection to be auctioned via Superrare at Art Basel Miami -

On December 2nd at Art Basel Miami, the first-ever Ross Ulbricht Non-Fungible Token (NFT) collection will be presented at the event and auctioned off via Superrare. Proceeds from the auction will support Ross Ulbricht's freedom efforts and a donor-advised fund called Art4giving, which supports people who have incarcerated family members.

10 NFTs featuring Ross Ulbricht's personal work

Non-fungible tokens (NFT) have become a big deal this year, transforming into a billion-dollar industry seemingly overnight. This week Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the now-defunct Silk Road marketplace, unveiled his first NFT collection after spending nine years behind bars for a non-violent crime. Ulbricht was a first-time offender, and a large majority of people believe his case was a “miscarriage of justice.” His double life sentence without parole plus 40 years for creating a website is also considered draconian.

Ulbricht is still fighting for his freedom and a petition hosted on change.org has received a lot of attention and signatures since its launch. The petition calls on the US President and government to grant Ulbricht clemency and the number of signatures supporting Ulbricht's freedom is getting closer 500,000 at the time of writing. The announcement regarding the new NFT collection sent to Bitcoin.com News shows that "representations of Ross Ulbricht's case and history were misleading. The NFT sale is intended to attract new attention and gain the support of the NFT community."

The announcement explains that Ross Ulbricht’s NFT collection will be unveiled and sold Art Basel Miami Event on December 2nd. The sale will take place on NFT platform Superrare and Entoptic's collection is Ulbricht's first NFT collection to showcase his personal work. "This NFT collection is Ross' creative journey of expression; it is his living and evolving story. Through drawings and videos, we see glimpses of a man's unfolding existence. This is his way of reaching outside the prison walls as we continue the campaign for his freedom," Entoptic said in a statement.

Ulbricht NFT Collection uses the KSPEC protocol, goes to Art4giving and furthering the Free Ross efforts

The NFT collection curated by Entoptic uses the open source protocol KSPEC. The KSPEC protocol was developed by a pseudonymous collective of “institutional art, design, and cryptographic technology experts” called Kanon. The organization believes that the KSPEC protocol “unlocks God Mode for NFTs.” According to the announcement, using KSPEC allows developers to “deliver the Ross Ulbricht Collection NFT in full quality and attach additional content to the chain.” Ulbricht also spoke about how the proceeds from the NFT auction will help people with incarcerated family members.

"With proceeds from this NFT, we are launching a donor-advised fund called Art4giving, dedicated to alleviating the suffering of those incarcerated and their families. One project I envision is to help children visit their mothers and fathers in prison," Ulbricht explained in a statement to Bitcoin.com News. Ulbricht further added:

"Decades of incarceration stretch out before me. As I face this future, my eventual old age and death in this cage, I search for meaning and purpose. Why am I here? What good can I do with the time I have left and where I am? I hope it is a way to help my fellow prisoners through my art."

The funding supports prisoners and their families in a variety of ways, and funds from the auction will also go toward efforts to free Ross. “This includes new litigation, awareness raising and more – there is still a long way to go,” the announcement concludes.

What do you think of Ross Ulbricht’s NFT collection announcement? Let us know your thoughts on this topic in the comments below.

Photo credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons