President Trump on Tuesday pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the Silk Road drug marketplace and a cult hero in the cryptocurrency and libertarian world.
In doing so, Trump fulfilled a promise he repeatedly made on the campaign trail by soliciting political contributions from the crypto industry, which has spent more than $100 million trying to influence the outcome of the election. Ta. Bitcoin pioneer Ulbricht, 40, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2015 after being convicted on charges including distributing drugs over the internet. .
“I called Ross William Wolbright's mother to let her know,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Society. “The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics responsible for the modern weaponization of the government against me.”
In its nearly three years of existence, Silk Road, which operated from a shady corner of the internet known as The Dark Web, has become an international drug marketplace, with over 1.5 million transactions, including the sale of heroin, cocaine and other illegal substances. Facilitated more than one transaction. (According to authorities, the site generated more than $200 million in revenue.) In court, prosecutors argued that Mr. Ulbricht sought the murders of people he considered a threat, but there was no evidence that the killings occurred. I admitted that there was no.
Despite his crimes, Mr. Ulbricht remains popular with Crypto enthusiasts. Because Silk Road was one of the first venues where people used Bitcoin to buy and sell goods. His supporters have argued for years that his sentences were overly punitive and adopted the slogan “Free Loss” online and at industry gatherings.
“It's hard to argue that Ross Ulbricht wasn't one of the most successful and influential entrepreneurs of the early Bitcoin era,” said Pete Rizzo, editor of news publication Bitcoin Magazine. “This is an industry that is coming together and saying, 'We're going to get ourselves back.' ”
Mr. Ulbricht's pardon was eagerly anticipated by crypto enthusiasts. On Monday, after Trump granted clemency to nearly 1,600 people in connection with the January 6 riot, Elon Musk, one of the president's biggest supporters, responded to a post involving X. , “Ross has been released.”
Mr. Ulbricht, who grew up in Austin, Texas, was arrested in 2013 after the FBI tracked him down at a San Francisco library. Two years later, in a sentencing in federal district court in Manhattan, a judge called Mr. Ulbricht the “kingpin of a global digital drug-trafficking enterprise” and said his actions were “terribly disruptive to our social fabric.” “It's true,” he said.
According to prosecutors, at least six deaths were caused by drugs purchased on the Silk Road. Addressing the court, the father of one of those who died said, “All Ross Ulbricht cared about was his pile of Bitcoin.”
However, the life sentence struck many observers as harsh. In 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed Ulbricht's conviction, recognizing the harsh nature of the punishment.
“While we may not have imposed the same sentence on ourselves in the first instance, on the facts of this case, a life sentence is an acceptable decision that the district court could have reached.” It was within range.”
Mr. Ulbricht is serving his sentence at a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona. Supporters of the crypto industry called for his release, noting that he was convicted of a non-violent crime and was not brought to trial on prosecutors' most explosive allegations. He paid to kill people. At the 2021 Bitcoin conference in Miami, Ulbricht's supporters played a recording of him speaking from prison.
“I had so many big dreams for Bitcoin,” he said.
Last year, Trump embraced Ulbricht's cause on the campaign trail. First speaking at a Libertarian event and later attending the annual Bitcoin conference in Nashville. He doubled down on social media, posting the hashtag #FreerOssDayone on Truth Social, a site he owns.
A message from Ulbricht posted on X after the election said, “I have a huge debt of gratitude to everyone who voted for President Trump on my behalf.”
“We can finally see the light of freedom at the end of the tunnel,” Post said.
Reported by Benjamin Weiser.
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