The Free Ross/Free Samurai Bitcoin Collectibles Raffle
Fun, Collectibles, and Good Causes
We at The Collectors Network are excited to announce a collectibles raffle event to precede the 2025 Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas. The basic details are as follows:
Location: Las Vegas at a location TBD.
Date: Monday, May 26 (the day before the conference begins, 2-5 PM.
Cost: 0.10002025 BTC per raffle ticket.
Tickets: There will be 20 tickets sold, with the 21st ticket to be offered to Ross Ulbricht.
Prizes: Bitcoin collectibles listed below.
Causes: #FreeRoss and #FreeSamurai. A total of 20% of the BTC from ticket sales
Any purchaser of a ticket must send 0.10002025 BTC to the wallet address below, and then email BitcoinRaffle2025@gmail.com with the name of the raffle participant who will be joining the event along with the public address from which the ticket was purchased.
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We are currently negotiating with a steakhouse on the Las Vegas strip to host the event. Details TBD hopefully soon.
The event will include some special guests, including Bitcoin Trading Card founder Alladin Flinn. We are open to sponsorship and prize donations.
More information to follow, including the method for the raffle (currently thinking in terms of the first block mined after 2 PM the day of the auction). This post will be edited, so check back.
If all tickets are sold, we plan to sell an additional level of ticket that does not include an entry into the raffle, but a nice meal with the Bitcoin fanatics and whales participating in the raffle. These additional tickets will be priced at .00502025 BTC.
This event will not take place if the raffle tickets do not sell out, and all BTC will be returned (minus a small tx fee to the network) to the addresses from which they were sent. We do not expect such an event termination.
The Causes
Ross Ulbricht has served far too much time in captivity. There is currently a hope that his sentence is commuted or that he is pardoned once Trump is inaugurated. Trump's new team includes numerous people focused on the Bitcoin space, so perhaps persecution of Bitcoiners will be reversed, and we can all focus on a sane transition into a Bitcoin era that aligns people and interests under a system that optimizes energy usage.
This is one of those stories of great importance that gets less coverage than it should. The results could change the future in significant ways. Co-founder and CTO of the privacy-focused Samurai Bitcoin wallet is being prosecuted for the crime of…writing code. Funds collected in this raffle may be used either in legal defense or countersuits that could help mold policy and law enforcement to steer away from attacking technological development. More information here and here.
The Raffle Prizes!
Everyone in attendance will receive one of a limited number of jerseys to be produced for the event. We will ask participants to sign three of these jerseys, one of which will be part of a prize, and one of which will be offered to Ross. These jerseys will memorialize an exceptional gathering.
The prizes below may be altered between now and the raffle, but alterations will not reduce the prize pool. We hope to add additional items, and better describe some of them to satisfy collectors. Some of the prize packages below will include unannounced items within the theme of the particular prize.
Prize 1: The Free Ross 1/1 Bitcoin Trading Card. This card was the subject of an effectively private auction at Scarce City of a few serious collectors in early 2023, with proceeds going to the #FreeRoss fund. Offers for this card of 0.7 BTC were twice made and rejected because the intention was always to include the Holy Grail of Bitcoin Trading Cards in a way that would bring additional attention to the cause. This unique card includes art work by Ross himself, and is the only lenticular card released by Bitcoin Trading Cards.
Prize 2: The [certified by Alladin] last retail box of the Series 1 Bitcoin Trading Cards ever sold. Offers of over $20k have been made for this box. Only a handful of unopened S1 boxes remain, but this one has unique significance as it was returned by Bitcoin Magazine and resold by BTCTC after all other stock of S1 had sold out.
Prize 3: The Artists Package. Some artists who have contributed to the BTCTC project will be creating unique 1/1 cards, and numerous cards that celebrate the artists will be part of this prize. More info TBD.
Prize 4: Happy Pizza Day! While the raffle will be held a few days after Pizza Day, the 1/100 Pizza Day card (and additional mementos) will go to some lucky raffle participant in addition to various Pizza Day mementos. Also included: A PSA 9 Hanging Bankers card. Disclaimer: We do not believe all bankers engage in nefarious or illegal activity. Some community banks in particular have done awesome work, and even the most evil banksters deserve fair trials prior to hanging. So…um…Happy Pizza Day!
Prize 5: Satoshi's Gift. The 3/21 chase card will look great in any Bitcoin collection.
Prize 6: Hal Finney's Gift. The Hal Finney card from Series 1 is one of the more sought after items. Though Hal passed away a few years ago, his motivation and curiosity is uniquely appreciated in the Bitcoin community. He was a pioneer on the most basic levels, setting the tone in the Cypherpunk community, participating as the first known Bitcoin miner [after Satoshi] and in the very first Bitcoin transaction.
Prize 7: The Greg Foss 1/1 from the BTCTC Series 1. This unique and graded card previously sold for 0.1 BTC.
Prize 8: Bottle 21/21 of Epoch V bourbon. This limited run bourbon was raffled by Bitcoin enthusiast Jonas at Bare Wood Spirits. We were fortunate to get ahold of the symbolic Bottle 21!
Prize 9: The BitSharks. Tone Vays is known both for his Bitcoin content and also for hosting poker games both at his Unconfiscatable Conference (and at other events). This prize includes the BTCTC Series 1 Tone Vayes (*/100) card and also one of the (*/21 BitSharks) claimed by a select group of collectors upon the release of BTCTC Series 2. One of Tone's poker buttons will be included, and we may add additional gaming cards and items. Several personality cards from the Unconfiscatable edition of BTCTC will also be part of this prize.
Prize 10: 21 Million. This is another extremely rare card (*/21) that celebrates the fixed supply of Bitcoin. Why 21 million? Because there are approximately 210,000 blocks in a four year period (almost exactly 2,100,000 minutes), and reward halving multiples this number of blocks by 100 BTC while summing the most beautiful and basic infinite geometric series,
Prize 11: Bitcoin Athletics. This prize package includes one of the three signed jerseys (by raffle participants and hosts). It also includes several items celebrating the athletes who have brought awareness to the Bitcoin project and community. More details to be announced.
Prize 12: Topps Validation. Let's be real, Topps has been a historic company in the creation of various collectible cards for generations. The Topps Allen & Ginter set combines a sense of history to the collectibles community. In 2018, this set included the very first Cryptocurrency trading card, which is the most sought after card ever in Topps A&G. The winner will receive several versions of this card along with numerous cards from the 2018 Topps A&G set, including several PSA mint versions. Photos coming soon.
Prize 13: Bitcoin Celebrities. The Max Kaiser card from BTCTC Series 1 is among the sought after Legendary (*/100) chase cards. We got Max to sign a case that holds his card at BitBlockBoom 2023, immediately encased in mint condition upon opening. Several additional chase cards will be included in this prize pool, including a (*/500) Michael Saylor S2 with a much-discussed printing error.
Prize 14: Satoshi's Wallet! No, we do not have access to a million BTC to give away. Not that we would admit if we did. We do however have a PSA 10 gem mint copy of the Satoshi's Wallet chase card.
Prize 15: Surfing Bitcoin: The very first BTCTC packs were freebies at the Pacific Beach Conference in late 2022. Each of 2000 packs included either a Surf Board card or Van, making these the two first BTCTC foils ever produced. Many who received these gifts were unaware of their significance to collectors, so there are a few hundred among collectors today. This one is in (ungraded) mint condition.
Prize 16: First Pack. One unopened pack from said 2022 Pacific Beach Conference.
Prize 17: The Whales. Three unopened packs of the very limited run of the first BTCTC Whales edition, plus additional packs and prizes TBD.
Prize 18: One unopened Box of BTCTC Series 2 trading card packs. Enjoy cracking those packs!
Prize 19: Bitcoin Education Card Binder (stocked). A collection of cards from various BTCTC printings (and Topps A&G) arranged in a unique, hand-crafted leather binder to serve as a Bitcoin Education Coffee Table book. A unique prize to introduce conversation of concepts, figures, and (the economy) businesses associated with Bitcoin!
Prize 20: The Bitcoin Crysknife. Master craftsman and award winner sword maker Emiliano Carrilo will be making one and only one Bitcoin Crysknife that will go to one raffle ticket holder. This will be an epic and unique keepsake. Photos and details will be added upon completion.
Prize 21: Bitcoin Magazine Issue #1, still in packaging, and framed.
More photos and information will be made available as we move toward this tremendous event.