President Donald Trump officially signed a full and unconditional pardon for Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht late Tuesday, leading to celebrations and relief across the Bitcoin community after his more than 10 years of incarceration.
“Finally Ross is free,” Tether CEO and Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino posted on X. “January 21 will be forever known as Ross Ulbricht Freedom Day,” Bitcoin historian Pete Rizzo added, reflecting on the apt date of the pardon considering Bitcoin’s total 21 million supply and January 2009 genesis block.
The Satoshi Nakamoto Institute, an online repository and educational resource dedicated to preserving and promoting the works, ideas and philosophies of Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator was also swift to express gratitude. “Without Ross’s vision of bitcoin creating a world of more peaceful commerce, we may not be here today. Welcome home, Ross!” the SNI wrote.
Among political supporters, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was one of the first to respond to the news, having previously called for Ulbricht’s release in his endorsement statement of the new President. “Ross Ulbricht has been freed by President Trump with a full pardon!” Massie said. “Thank you for keeping your word to me and others who have been advocating for Ross’ freedom, Mr. President!”
Ulbricht, 40, was serving a multiple life sentence without the possibility of parole for operating Silk Road, a darknet market that facilitated the sale of narcotics and other illegal products and services. He was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in October 2013 before being convicted in 2015 for engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, distributing narcotics, conspiring to distribute narcotics, conspiring to commit money laundering, conspiring to traffic in false identity documents and other charges. The large-scale platform used bitcoin for transactions and helped to popularize the cryptocurrency's use. However, it also fueled critics' view of bitcoin's association with illegal activities in its early days.
“The reason why the libertarians cheered Trump’s announcement was that the sentence was profoundly unjust and crazy, and because Ross is an intelligent, good-hearted, and wonderful person whose work in this realm had nothing to do with a fixation on illicit drugs,” the author Jeffrey A Tucker wrote. “It was about an experiment in market freedom, which he undertook because the technology allowed it. His purpose was simply to show that free markets work. Nothing more.”
Freeing Ross Ulbricht from incarceration has long been a priority for Bitcoiners who have petitioned for his sentence to be commuted for many years, considering it to be disproportionately harsh for a first-time, non-violent offender. Ulbricht’s vision for Silk Road was rooted in libertarian ideals of free markets and individual freedom, themes that resonate strongly within parts of the crypto community. After Silk Road's shutdown, U.S. authorities seized approximately 174,000 BTC from wallets associated with the platform, much of which has since been auctioned off by the U.S. government.
Ross Ulbricht is revered by early Bitcoin adopters because he embodied the ethos of radical freedom and entrepreneurship that defined Bitcoin's early days, Bitcoin author and educator Vijay Boyapati explained. While many today focus on bitcoin's financial gains, Ulbricht's story is a reminder of its deeper purpose to give people the freedom to “spend money without middlemen being able to stand in their way,” another Bitcoin community member added.
Earlier on Tuesday, the odds of a pardon had surged to 95% on the decentralized predictions platform Polymarket. That followed a post on X from Department of Government Efficiency lead Elon Musk stating, "Ross will be freed too." Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky had also sent a letter to President Trump urging him to release Ulbricht just hours before the official pardon.
"I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, announcing the news.
Meanwhile, many in the community were quick to point out the relentless campaigning of Ulbricht’s mother during his incarceration.
“The person who deserves all the credit for Ross Ulbricht going free is someone who won't claim it: his mom Lyn,” LBRY founder Jeremy Kauffman wrote. “She is savvy, relentless, tenacious, and made working to free her son a non-stop obsession for an entire decade.”
“Lyn Ulbricht is a warrior, I love this for Ross, her and their family,” Bitcoin podcaster and long-time campaigner for Ulbricht’s release Peter McCormack added.
Addressing the Libertarian Party’s May national convention during the presidential election campaign, Trump said he would commute Ulbricht's sentence on his first day in office if re-elected, reiterating that pledge again at Bitcoin 2024 in July.
It may not have been day one, but his promise was fulfilled nonetheless. “We Freed Ross,” said Bitcoin Magazine CEO David Bailey, who has been an instrumental figure in Trump’s newfound advocacy for the crypto industry. “This counts as ‘Day 1.’ Promises Made, Promises Kept. Thank you President Trump. Speechless tbh.”
The family's Free Ross campaign account responded to the news on X, saying words could not express how grateful they are. "President Trump is a man of his word and he just saved Ross's life. ROSS IS A FREE MAN!!!!!" The account later posted the first image of Ulbricht walking free from prison, simply adding, “FREEDOM!!!!”
However, the full pardon goes a lot further than Trump’s initial commutation pledge, and was largely unexpected. A commutation would have ended Ulbricht’s sentence but left his convictions in place. The full and unconditional pardon not only frees him from prison but also absolves him of the legal consequences of his conviction. “Full pardon over commutation is a huge deal!” Bailey said.
While Galaxy Digital Head of Research Alex Thorn also expressed his happiness for Ulbricht and his family, he raised the question of what the full and unconditional pardon, rather than just commutation, meant regarding any claim Ulricht could have on the remaining bitcoin seized from him and Silk Road — particularly as it may form the lion share of any initial bitcoin strategic stockpile established by Trump.
Bitcoin advocate and commercial litigator Joe Carlasare responded that the answer to that question was resolved in an 1877 case. “The general pardon and amnesty granted by President Johnson, by proclamation, on the 25th of December, 1868, do not entitle one receiving their benefits to the proceeds of his property, previously condemned and sold under the Confiscation Act of July 17, 1862, 12 Stat. 589, after such proceeds have been paid into the Treasury of the United States,” a caption from that case reads.
Ulbricht’s pardoning has inevitably led to increased speculation that Trump’s other key crypto-related election promises are now more likely. They include creating a bitcoin strategic reserve, appointing a more crypto-friendly Securities and Exchange Commission Chair, establishing a Crypto Presidential Advisory Council, repealing SAB 121, ending “Operation Choke Point 2.0” and turning the U.S. into a bitcoin mining “powerhouse.”
“Odds for the SBR just skyrocketed,” Bailey said, adding that he expected dedicated bitcoin and crypto executive orders in the coming days and the President to deliver on his strategic bitcoin reserve pledge in his first 100 days.
However, Polymarket bettors currently seem less confident, with odds that Trump will create a bitcoin reserve in his first week down to 3%, and 35% in the first 100 days.
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