Donald Trump has just kept one of his campaign promises. The new President of the United States has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, creator of the online black market Silk Road. The American Constitution gives the president limited pardon power for federal crimes.
This dark web site allowed people to buy anything and everything with Bitcoin, especially weapons and drugs. Since its creation in 2011 and its closure in 2013, the platform has generated $200 million in sales. Silk Road closed its doors following a long FBI investigation. This also led to the arrest of Ross Ulbricht, who ran Silk Road under the name Dread Pirate Roberts, in 2013.
Before being released on Donald Trump's orders, Ross Ulbricht spent more than ten years in prison. In 2015, he was found guilty of seven counts, including drug trafficking and money laundering.
Donald Trump flatters libertarians
In a message published on Thruth Social, Donald Trump explains that he dedicates the release of Ross Ulbricht to the libertarian movement, which is very influential in the United States:
Donald Trump had also promised to pardon the founder of Silk Road at a Libertarian Party convention held last May. Close to libertarianism, Ross Ulbricht believed that "people should have the right to buy and sell what they want, as long as they do not harm others". It is on this ideological foundation that he launched Silk Road. The Libertarian Party had officially called for the young man's release in 2018.
Ulbricht's release should also delight cryptocurrency holders. The creator of Silk Road is massively supported by Bitcoin defenders. Over the years, Ross Ulbricht has become a symbol of the early days of cryptocurrency and the fight against governments, one of the hobbyhorses of the Bitcoin community.
Kraken, one of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchanges, also donated $111,111 in bitcoins to the creator of Silk Road. The American platform explains that it wants to ensure that "after what you've been through, you can get back on your feet with the support of the community that loves you the most, the ₿itcoin community."
According to the latest news, Ross Ulbricht, now 40 years old, is not penniless. According to the investigations of Conor Grogan, director of product strategy at Coinbase, he still has 430 bitcoins stored in different addresses on the blockchain. These cryptocurrencies are worth more than $40 million and have escaped the American authorities.
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